A 33-year-old Michigan woman gave birth to a healthy baby boy but died from COVID-19 complications right before holding him.
Erika Becerra was eight months pregnant when she told her mother she was experiencing COVID-19 symptoms. After receiving a positive test result, she was admitted into the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.
When the doctors realized Becerra’s was symptoms were worsening, they decided to induce her, the KCAL Los Angeles News reports.
On November 15, Becerra gave birth to her son, Diego Antonio Becerra. Her brother Michael Avilez said, “she had a normal labor.” But unfortunately, she did not get to hold her son. “Right after she gave birth…she just started declining.”
Before she contracted the virus, the mother was admitted to the hospital due to contractions. When she was sent home, she was having difficulty breathing a week later. Becerra had no known underlying conditions, except for being pregnant, USA Today reports.
“Towards the last moments, she was tearing up. I know she heard us as we prayed for her, we talked to her, we comforted her in the last moments,” Avilez said in a video with tears in his eyes.
“All my sister wanted was the best for everybody, and she cared about lives. She didn’t deserve to go through what she went through.”
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Becerra leaves behind her 1-year-old daughter, her newborn, and her husband. All who have tested positive for the virus.
“I know God needed her more than we did,” Avilez said. “And with open arms, we gave her to God last night.”
