Aussie mum gives birth in a coma after she was struck down with a severe case of the flu

A young mother who gave birth in a coma and only met or held her baby daughter for the first time eight days later has opened up about the ordeal.

Kiri Sheehan, a 28-year-old woman from Perth, was 30 weeks pregnant with Luna when she came down with a severe case of flu and was unable to combat the infection with medication because she was in the last trimester of pregnancy.

Mrs. Sheehan was admitted to Joondalup Health Campus in Perth on August 31 with severe chest pain and breathing difficulties before she was diagnosed pneumonia and a collapsed lung.

“After that I kept going in and out (of consciousness), I can’t remember virtually anything from then on,” Ms Sheehan said. 7news.com.au.

That night she was put into a medically induced coma so that Luna could continue to develop in the womb.

However, the next day doctors discovered bleeding and had to perform a life-saving caesarean section while Kiri was still in a coma.

“(My partner) Scott was very concerned. The staff played it nice and quiet because it was so serious. They didn’t know if I was going to wake up,” Ms Sheehan said.

Luna was born 10 weeks prematurely on September 3 and weighed only 1.4 kg.

Luna, who was born 10 weeks prematurely and weighed just 1.4kg, remains in neonatal care

Little Luna was rushed to the neonatal unit at King Edward Memorial Hospital in Perth.

Ms Sheehan was gradually woken from her coma five days later as she was given ‘little bits of information at a time’, but was assured Luna was safe.

Although she was able to see her newborn daughter via video calls, it would still be three days before Ms Sheehan would be healthy enough to meet and hold Luna for the first time.

‘It was an immediate click. There was love, relief and it gave me more motivation to leave the hospital,” Mrs Sheehan recalls.

‘It was so beautiful, but also very scary. She had so many cords and tubes and it was overwhelming, but everything I could have asked for.”

Ms Sheehan was discharged from hospital a few days later on September 12.

Luna (pictured with dad Scott) didn’t meet her mother until she was eight days old

The Perth mother (left) was 30 weeks pregnant with Luna when she was struck down with a severe case of flu

Nearly a month later, Ms Sheehan is still experiencing chest pain and breathing difficulties.

The doctors told her that if she had not gone to the hospital when she did, it could result in her bleeding and Luna “not making it.”

Now that she is one month old, Luna has left intensive care, but she will remain in the hospital for the foreseeable future.

Ms Sheehan and her partner Scott Haliday have three boys, but have also experienced the tragedy of a baby boy’s stillbirth at 22 weeks.

A GoFundme page was started by her brother to ease the family’s financial burden as medical and living costs rise.

Mr Haliday has had to stop working as a subcontracted plasterer to care for the couple’s three boys, aged nine, six and four, while his wife and daughter continue to recover.

“Without his income, the family struggles to cover basic expenses, including rent, bills and rising medical costs for Kiri and Luna,” the page said.

Baby Luna (in the photo with mother Kiri) is now one month old and is still in the hospital

Kiri’s husband Scott has been forced to stop working as a subcontracted plasterer to provide for his family (pictured)

It also revealed that Luna was being fed through a stomach tube and given 1ml of food every hour.

“When Kiri woke up and everything was fine, she started expressing breast milk so the nurses could send it to King Edward Memorial Hospital for baby Luna,” the page said.

The original goal of $10,000 has already been surpassed, with nearly $13,000 pledged.

It’s still quite a journey for Kiri and Luna to get back to full health,” the page said.

‘This GoFundMe has been an absolute godsend for the family as Scott doesn’t have to worry about finances and going back to work and can instead focus on helping Kiri and Baby Luna get all the support and care get what they need.’