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Bhubaneswar: Nivedita (name changed), a 25-year-old pregnant woman, and her husband had a nightmarish experience when she tested Covid-19 positive a day before her expected date of delivery. Her gynaecologist asked her to go to a Covid-19 hospital in the city, but due to fear of infection the couple opted to go to a private hospital. Most leading private hospitals denied her admission, and finally she was admitted to AIIMS-Bhubaneswar, where she tested Covid-19 negative.
Nivedita is not the lone such case. Amid rising cases of Covid-19, the stress of pregnant women has increased manifold as most private hospitals are not admitting them. On the other hand, doctors say a large number of pregnant women are coming late to hospital due to the fear of infection, leading to complications.
“Although the state government has ordered hospitals to give admission to Covid-19 patients as soon as possible, several are not doing so. Many rules are there on pen and paper, but, in reality, the Covid management situation is grim in the city,” rued Nivedita’s husband.
Pregnant women are considered at high risk of Covid-19 infection. Doctors said pregnant women had a higher risk of being admitted to ICUs than non-pregnant women.
“All pregnant women are at risk and need to be brought to the hospital on time. You cannot predict things as many high-risk cases deliver normally and many normal cases end up becoming high-risk. We have noticed that a large number of pregnant women are reaching hospital late, increasing the risk factor. Sometime they need blood transfusion or surgery,” Gitanjali Batmanabane, director of AIIMS-Bhubaneswar, where a separate labour room has been set up for delivery of Covid-19 pregnant women.
Around 100 pregnant women are delivering every month in AIIMS, of whom around 10 are Covid-19 positive.
Batmanabane said the health of women in general, including that of pregnant women, had been neglected during the pandemic. “Women are dependent on their family to bring them to hospital. Due to fear of infection, many family members are not ready to bring women to their check-ups. We have also noticed a decline in the number of patients with gynaecological problems,” she said.
The plight of pregnant women has cut across class or locality. “Initially we used to receive a large number of Covid-19 positive pregnant patients from across the state but of late the number has reduced. We have made a separate ward, operation theatre and labour room for Covid-19 pregnant women. All pregnant women coming to non-Covid section are undertaking RT-PCR test,” said Ambika Mohanty, medical superintendent, KIMS Covid Hospital. He too said regular pre-natal and post-natal health check-ups had decreased during the pandemic.
Patients also said doctors were encouraging normal delivery to avoid surgery or longer stay in hospitals. They also said most doctors and nurses were overburdened or engaged with Covid-19 care.
Nivedita is not the lone such case. Amid rising cases of Covid-19, the stress of pregnant women has increased manifold as most private hospitals are not admitting them. On the other hand, doctors say a large number of pregnant women are coming late to hospital due to the fear of infection, leading to complications.
“Although the state government has ordered hospitals to give admission to Covid-19 patients as soon as possible, several are not doing so. Many rules are there on pen and paper, but, in reality, the Covid management situation is grim in the city,” rued Nivedita’s husband.
Pregnant women are considered at high risk of Covid-19 infection. Doctors said pregnant women had a higher risk of being admitted to ICUs than non-pregnant women.
“All pregnant women are at risk and need to be brought to the hospital on time. You cannot predict things as many high-risk cases deliver normally and many normal cases end up becoming high-risk. We have noticed that a large number of pregnant women are reaching hospital late, increasing the risk factor. Sometime they need blood transfusion or surgery,” Gitanjali Batmanabane, director of AIIMS-Bhubaneswar, where a separate labour room has been set up for delivery of Covid-19 pregnant women.
Around 100 pregnant women are delivering every month in AIIMS, of whom around 10 are Covid-19 positive.
Batmanabane said the health of women in general, including that of pregnant women, had been neglected during the pandemic. “Women are dependent on their family to bring them to hospital. Due to fear of infection, many family members are not ready to bring women to their check-ups. We have also noticed a decline in the number of patients with gynaecological problems,” she said.
The plight of pregnant women has cut across class or locality. “Initially we used to receive a large number of Covid-19 positive pregnant patients from across the state but of late the number has reduced. We have made a separate ward, operation theatre and labour room for Covid-19 pregnant women. All pregnant women coming to non-Covid section are undertaking RT-PCR test,” said Ambika Mohanty, medical superintendent, KIMS Covid Hospital. He too said regular pre-natal and post-natal health check-ups had decreased during the pandemic.
Patients also said doctors were encouraging normal delivery to avoid surgery or longer stay in hospitals. They also said most doctors and nurses were overburdened or engaged with Covid-19 care.
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