Coronavirus: Premature baby girl recovers after becoming ‘Scotland’s youngest Covid-19 patient’

A three-week-old baby believed to be Scotland’s youngest coronavirus patient has recovered from the virus and is settling in at home with her parents.

Peyton Maguire was born eight weeks premature in Lanarkshire on 26 March, weighing just 3lbs 5oz.

Delivered by C-section after her mother, Tracy, was diagnosed with pre-eclampsia, Peyton spent her first weeks on an incubator in University Hospital Wishaw’s neo-natal unit.

Despite showing barely any symptoms beyond a mild cough, she was tested for Covid-19 in her third week.

“It was the first time I’d seen my baby cry tears,” Tracy told the BBC as she described watching doctors place a swab into Peyton’s nose to test for the virus. “I held her, I was crying and we were just trying to get each other through the situation”.

The test came back as positive on 15 April – at which point both of her parents were told to self-isolate at home for 14 days.

“When I heard Peyton had coronavirus I was sobbing and really worried about how it could affect her respiratory system, her lungs and if it was life-threatening,” her mother said.

She told the broadcaster: “As much as she was fine I thought at what point was she with the virus? How is she fighting against it when she’s so wee? It was just the unknown.”

After pleading with medics that she be allowed to stay with Peyton, they permitted Tracy to remain in the hospital, but insisted her father, AJ, would need to wait at home for his daughter to recover.

“Watching the staff at work was incredible,” Tracy said. “They put their lives at risk to make sure my baby was getting fed and cuddled. Even wearing their PPE, they were determined to hold her.

“Peyton is the most precious person in the world to me and it shows the trust I had in the midwives and the other staff that I put her care in their hands – because that is that they are trained to do.”

Peyton was discharged on Monday after testing negative twice for the virus.

She is now settling in at home in Bellshill, North Lanarkshire, with her 27-year-old mother – a digital marketing student – and 28-year-old father AJ, who works as a personal trainer and boxing coach.

Tracy reiterated her appreciation to NHS staff, telling The Independent she hoped "to bring some joy to everyone with our beautiful girl", and to offer reassurance to other prospective parents who may need to visit hospitals in the near future.

She added: “My message to any mums-to-be is that they shouldn’t be worried about going into hospital to give birth because the staff know exactly what they need to do to protect everyone from the virus,” she said.

“And if people have symptoms of a serious health problem, like I did, they shouldn’t be scared to go to hospital and get checked out because just leaving it could make their condition worse.

“Only someone who has been in our position can understand the gratitude we feel towards the hospital staff.”

NHS Lanarkshire chief midwife Cheryl Clark said: “We’re delighted that the fantastic care Peyton has received from our staff has meant she is well enough to go home, allowing AJ to be reunited with his wife and daughter.”

Additional reporting by PA