120 Covid-positive women gave birth to healthy kids at PGIMS, Rohtak, in two months

Ravinder Saini

Tribune News Service

Rohtak, May 23

Deliveries of over 120 Covid-positive women were performed at the gynecology and obstetrics ward at Pt BD Sharma Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (PGIMS) in the past two months. In all cases, the Covid patients gave the birth to healthy children.

Significantly, many doctors and nurses contracted infection while extending treatment to Covid patients, but it failed to dampen their spirit and discharged their duties with devotion and enthusiasm in the time of crisis. They recovered from infection and again joined duty, said Dr Pushpa Dahiya, Medical Superintendent (MS) of the PGIMS.

Aware of their plight

It was not less than a challenge to treat and to ensure safe delivery of Covid-positive women during the first wave of Covid last year when a panic-like situation prevailed all around, but our doctors and nurses took up the challenge. Consequently, Rohtak PGIMS became the first institute across Haryana to perform first Caesarean section of a Covid patient in 2020. — Dr Pushpa Dahiya, Medical Superintendent of the PGIMS

She informed, nearly 500 Covid positive women were treated at the gynecology and obstetrics ward in the past one year. Around 240 among them underwent deliveries and over 50 per cent such deliveries were performed in April and May this year when the Covid was playing havoc across the state, she added.

“It was not less than a challenge to treat and to ensure safe delivery of Covid-positive women during the first wave of Covid last year when a panic-like situation prevailed all around, but our doctors and nurses took up the challenge. Consequently, Rohtak PGIMS became the first institute across Haryana to perform first Caesarean section of a Covid patient in 2020,” said the MS, adding that thereafter, cesarean deliveries of over 130 Covid patients have been done so far.

Dr Pushpa, who is also a senior professor at the department of gynecology and obstetrics, informed that rapid antigen and RT PCR test of women patients were performed on coming to the ward. Since the RTPCR report comes after 24-hour hence the patients are kept in isolation in the ward until then. Those tested positive were taken to the Covid care centre in the trauma ward for delivery. The newborn babies were separated from their mothers post delivery to prevent him/her from infection, she added.“Infants are kept at the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of the PGIMS where doctors take care of the babies. The mother remains at the Covid care centre until she recovers from the infection while Covid test of the newborn is also done. Generally, such babies are found negative,” she maintained.