Childbirth amid COVID spike
While it is becoming increasingly difficult to procure a hospital bed anywhere in the country amid the threatening surge of the COVID surge, the troubles are way more pronounced for COVID positive pregnant women. However, in Mumbai, the BYL Nair Charitable Hospital is countering this peril with its state-of-the-art facilities and a dedicated team of medical experts to ensure that virus-infected moms are safely delivering their babies.
The first such delivery of an infant by a COVID-19 positive mother took place on April 14, 2020, under the lockdown shutters. "Of around 1,025 safe deliveries so far, there was one set of triplets, 19 twins and the remaining 984 were single bundles of joy whose first cries brought cheers to the lives of their anxious parents," the hospital Dean & Director Dr Ramesh Bharmal told sources on Thursday.
As per available information, this achievement is unlike any other medical claim ever logged in India's medical history, lining it up for global acclamation! Further scientific documentation and additional research are currently underway to drive this success story into the Guinness Book of Records.
Protecting the baby from infection post-delivery
The success of the Nair Hospital has to be attributed to its behind-the-scenes heroes that include its medical, paramedical and support teams, under the able management of BMC commissioners, the hospital deans and other higher officials. At the same time, the efforts of the primary workforce can not be left unaccounted for.
"They slogged 6 hours consecutively without even drinking water as they wore PPE kits, did all their duties tirelessly practically 24X7, spending days in the hospital without going home, and dedicated themselves without complaints to the care of the Covid-19 positive pregnant women and their special need", Dr Bharmal acknowledged.
It has been scientifically proven that COVID infection is not congenital and the unborn baby is not infected even if the mothers are. At the same time, chances of infections are not negligible when the baby comes in contact with the mom after birth and in this delicate scenario, the BYL Nair Charitable Hospital has charged onto the eye of the pandemic storm.
Consequently, the key players of this success story are a convoy of ward-boys and other conservancy staffers who are engaged to maintain maximum hygiene in the obstetrics department and the neonatal intensive care units for the prime protection of the newborns. As per protocols, all newborns of Covid-infected women are also tested and though some infants born here during the year were found positive, they were asymptomatic and later discharged after they tested negative.
100% efficacy during first wave of COVID rise
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For every 10 cases, about 6 were normal deliveries, while the rest were cesarians (surgery) babies, and there and there was not a single fatality among the mothers or the infants in the first Covid-wave, informed officials The hospital has also devised a means to ensure that the new mothers are able to breastfeed their babies without infecting them.
"For this, each woman admitted was handed a full Covid protection kit like sanitiser, soap, facemask, toothpaste, brush, oils, combs, towels, kerchiefs, and served a protein-rich diet comprising cereals, pulses, eggs, besides counselling and all other precautions to ensure the baby remained infection-free," informed Dr Malik.
However, the virus scaled in ferocity during the second rise of the pandemic, affecting pregnant women, babies. In the last 3 months, about a dozen of unfortunate deaths have been noted here. Efforts are underway to prevent the rise of this number.
