Kent mum thought she would ‘never meet her unborn son’

A woman from Kent who was hospitalised with Covid-19 while pregnant said she feared she would never get to meet her unborn son.

Karen Mannering, from Herne Bay, was rushed to hospital in March 2020 with pneumonia in both of her lungs after contracting the disease prior to the first lockdown.

Now, Ms Mannering says she chooses to block out the memories of that time and “pretend it didn’t happen” after believing that she was about to die.

The 44-year-old added that she was “thankful we are both here” after her son Tyson, now four-and-a-half, was born shortly after at the height of the pandemic.

Ms Mannering said: “I try not to look back at that time. I’m really happy we both made it.

“I honestly thought we were never going to meet. I look at him now and think how lucky I am.

“I know if I didn’t go into hospital that night they would have found me dead in my son’s bed.”

Ms Mannering was six months pregnant with her fourth child when she developed a persistent cough and later struggled to breathe.

She was later taken to hospital, adding she was “in and out of consciousness” and “worried stiff for my child”.

Ms Mannering later went viral on TikTok after posting a video of her condition and urging others to be wary of the virus.

She added: “I wanted people to know it’s real, it’s here and it’s in this area.

“Everyone thought it was going to happen to someone far away, not that it would happen on your doorstep.”

Ms Mannering gave birth to Tyson in June 2020, an experience she said was “all different” due to Covid restrictions, meaning she was largely without friends or family while in hospital.