Discussion 3 | Week 5 | Birth in the Age of Coronavirus

The doctors were extremely worried. It was too soon for Precious Anderson, age 31, to give birth since she was only

7 months pregnant. And if the baby were to be delivered now, 2 months early, it would have immediate problems

breathing and eating and would be at risk for potentially lifelong problems. Yet there seemed to be little choice.

Anderson, a substitute teacher, was suffering from a coronavirus infection, one more victim of the worldwide

pandemic that started in 2020. She was clinging to life, and her lungs were barely functioning. Her only hope, the

doctors believed, would be delivering the baby immediately, which might reduce the pressure on her body and help

her survive. So, doctors carried out an emergency cesarean delivery, itself risky for a woman in such poor health.

But the result was a ray of light during the pandemic: both mother and baby-named David, after his father-

survived and were recovering (Fink, 2020).

David was born almost 2 months early. Why was the fact that he was born alive so surprising? Can you discuss David's birth in terms of "the age of viability"?