"I had to learn to feed myself, brush my teeth, all the things you learn as a toddler."

A woman who was in an induced seven-week coma due to Covid-19 has woken up to discover she gave birth to a baby daughter. Laura Ward from Wigan, Manchester, was placed into a coma after becoming sick with coronavirus when she was pregnant with her daughter, Hope. Ward did not get the Covid vaccine because at the time, it was not recommended for pregnant women in the UK. Once she was placed into the coma, her baby girl was delivered via emergency C-section at 31 weeks. When she eventually woke up, she had no memory of delivering her daughter.

"I opened my eyes to see Hope on the bed with me, but I couldn't move any part of my body," she told ITV News. "All I could do was shake and nod my head."

"It was frustrating because I couldn't speak, but because I couldn't move my arms or hands, I wasn't able to write anything down that I wanted to say either.

"I had to learn to feed myself, brush my teeth, all the things you learn as a toddler, it's like learning everything all over again."

Teaching assistance Ward tested positive for Covid just ahead of the summer holidays. During her isolation period she experienced issues breathing and phoned emergency services, where she was told to go to hospital. It was there that she was told her baby would need to be delivered early, to which she consented, however she does not remember this.

"My family were obviously panicking. The doctors and nurses clearly thought it's not looking good," she said.

"John [her husband] has managed to keep everyone upbeat about it though. He was telling them 'she's not giving up and neither are we' and 'let's keep positive, we're not going to lose her, she's going to be fine'."

When Ward eventually woke up two weeks before her due date, she discovered that baby Hope had already been born. Husband John had waited until his wife was awake before naming their child. She has said that despite not being offered the vaccine at the time, she would now encourage pregnant women to take it. She said: "I'd say just get it. I wouldn't wish what's happened to me on anyone and it's better to be safe than sorry."