A young mother who was on life-support after contracting swine flu has died.
Fatiha Idrissi Kaitouni fell ill with swine flu at the beginning of June, several weeks before her due date.
Her husband said that in her 38th week of pregnancy, she went in to the emergency ward atr Ste. Justine hospital due to a high fever, and two days later she contracted pneumonia. Doctors then transferred her to Sacre-Coeur hospital where she was diagnosed with swine flu.
She eventually became so sick that doctors at Sacre-Coeur hospital performed a caesarean-section to save the baby, however Kaitouin's condition worsened after giving birth.
She was kept on life support until this week, when doctors told her husband she would not recover.
Canada's public health agency says pregnant women aren't more suseptible to catching the flu. But if they get it, there's a higher risk of complications.
Meanwhile a Vancouver-area mother has been allowed to see her infant son for the first time since his birth.
Jennifer Shultz becamely severely ill several weeks before her due date, and was given an emergency C-section and put in isolation.
Tests confirmed that Shultz did in fact contract swine flu, but fortunately, her son did not have the illness.
Doctors in Montreal are urging women to pay attention to any flu-like symptoms dutring their pregnancy.
"If you are pregnant and have a temperature, have headaches, and flu-like symptoms, muscle aches, call Info Sante or call your doctor immediately," said Horatio Arruda of Quebec's public health department.
Info-Sante can be reached by calling 8-1-1.
With a report from CTV's Vancouver Bureau Chief Rob Brown
