MIDDLETOWN, Ohio (WKRC) — A heartbreaking moment captured in time: a newborn baby lying on her dying mother’s chest as her father lays his hand on her frail little body.
“It’s kind of like bittersweet because we really wanted this baby, but now she’s not here to share it with me,” said Jonathon Luvender, who thought he still had forever to go with his wife, Brittany, and their two girls.
The couple had just married in November of 2020 and had finally gotten pregnant after trying six years for their second child.
“We’ve been trying for this kid for so long, you know. I just can’t believe this happened," said Jonathon.
Brittany was only 27 weeks along when she tested positive for COVID-19. She was admitted to the hospital on September 5. The following day, she could no longer breathe on her own and was placed on a ventilator.
On September 17, Riley Rose was born. She was delivered by emergency C-section three months premature.
“She’s doing good, but Mommy Mommy couldn’t fight,” Jonathon said.
Brittany died on Friday less than a month after she was first admitted to the hospital.
The day before, Jonathon fought for Riley to have one last bonding moment with Brittany.
“It was amazing. Like all of her vitals went up; her oxygen levels went up; blood pressure was good; and she stayed that way for six hours," he said. "So I have a feeling she knew she was there and she was just waiting to know her baby was OK.”
Jonathon says he wishes she would have gotten the vaccine.
"Her thing about the vaccination was it’s not approved for children yet, so why would she give it to the baby, so she wanted to wait until after the baby was born,” he said.
It’s a difficult decision thousands of pregnant women across the country face.
“Every pregnant woman wants to protect her unborn child, so hesitancy is very understandable. That’s why it’s so important for us here and in my office to tell them what we know," said Dr. Lisa Egbert, vice speaker of the American Medical Association.
The CDC says97% of pregnant people hospitalized with COVID-19 were unvaccinated, putting them at a 70% increased risk of death.
Dr. Egbert says the risk from the vaccine is minimal and does not compare to the risk of COVID-19 during pregnancy.
"I don't want to see this happening to anyone else, cause I'm going through it and it's the hardest thing I've ever had to do," said Jonathon.
He says, while it is a personal choice, he urges anyone who might be on the fence to get the vaccine.
The family still has a long road ahead. Riley will have to stay in the NICU until at least December and the family will now have to downsize to adjust to only having one income.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help raise money for the family.