The video by state media outlet CCTV was meant to portray nine-month pregnant Zhao Yu as a hero.
But instead social media users criticised the hospital for allowing a heavily pregnant nurse to work in a highly contagious environment.
One user said the woman was being used as a "propaganda tool".
More than 2,200 people have now died from the coronavirus in China, with the majority of deaths coming out Wuhan, capital of Hubei province.