A Florida woman who didn't want to get the COVID-19 vaccine because she was pregnant ended up in intensive care and needing to deliver her baby early after she caught the virus.
Kristen Hutton, from Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, was advised to get the vaccine by her obstetrician but decided against it, fearing it would hurt her baby, reported WPBF.
However, during her ninth month, she visited the hospital after feeling unwell and was shocked to learn she has contracted the disease.
Her condition quickly worsened, requiring her baby to delivered via emergency Caesarean section.
Kristen spend more than week in the hospital, including several days in the intensive care unit (ICU), and required multiple blood transfusions.
Now back at home raising her newborn daughter, Palmer, Kristen says she regrets not getting the vaccine and hopes to educate other mothers-to-be about the dangers they face if they contract COVID-19.
Kristen Hutton, from Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, ended up hospitalized and in the ICU after she caught the virus a week before her due date. Pictured: Kristen with her baby in the hospital
Kristen didn't get the COVID-19 vaccine because she worried it would hurt her baby despite her doctor's assurances it was safe. Pictured: Kristen, left, with her husband, Derek
One week before her baby was due, earlier this month, Kristen wasn't feeling well so her husband, Derek, took her to Jupiter Medical Center, reported WPBF.
Kristen believed she was simply dehydrated, but was stunned after the results of her tests came back.
'They came back in, and when she said: "You have Covid," I was like: "What?'' Kristen told WPBF.
Doctors advised Kristen be admitted to the hospital so they could monitor her up to her due date.
However, her health rapidly deteriorated.
'My breathing started getting worse,' Kristen said.
'They put me on oxygen. I started going downhill from there.'
Pregnant women were not included in the
