Amongst the gloomy times, we have some good news for all the pregnant women who might have several fears and apprehensions about what would happen if they get infected with Coronavirus and the effects it could have on the baby etc.
All was going well for Mrs. Shaheen Shaikh (Name changed) and family, a resident of Kurla who was in her 38th week of her pregnancy until she was asked to do a COVID-19 test as per the standard protocols. Unfortunately, she was detected positive and the happiness turned into worries and anxiety of the unknown. The Shaikh family had many questions and didn’t know where to find the answers, that’s when Dr. Anjali Talwalkar, one of the leading Gynaecologist & Obstetrician at SRV Hospital in Tilak Nagar, Chembur came to their rescue as a ray of gleaming light at the end of a dark tunnel and patiently answered all their answers and put them at ease. She showed them all the studies done so far by W.H.O, ICMR, Harvard etc and how the data clearly indicates that the risk of passing the infection to the foetus appears to be very low and also the fact that currently there is no evidence of any fetal malformations or effects due to maternal infection with COVID-19.
After the initial counselling, the patient was then immediately transferred to SRV Hospital in Chembur which has a dedicated ward and ICU back up as well for COVID patients. The delivery team included Dr. Anjali Talwalkar – Lead Surgeon, Dr. Sriram Gopal – Assistant Surgeon and Dr. Avanti Bhawe – Anaesthetist. A caesarean section had to be performed to deliver the baby. The surgery was long and complicated but the complications were resultant of other clinical histories of the patient and not because of the COVID.However, battling all the complications and after a long and strenuous surgery, Mrs. Shaikh delivered a beautiful baby girl. While the baby was relatively healthy but she had to be monitored for any symptoms or abnormalities. The post-delivery NICU care was spearheaded by Dr. Dhiren Kalawadia of SRV Hospital who is known to be amongst the finestpaediatricians in Mumbai. The Shaikh family was overjoyed to hear that their daughter was not infected from Coronavirus. Mrs. Shaheen Shaikh is extremely healthy and on her way to recovery from COVID-19 and hopefully should be able to discharged soon.
Dr. Anjali Talwalkar said, I would like to use this platform to put all the pregnant women at ease by answering the top 3 frequently asked questions to me: 1. Chances of Fetal tramission of the virus is very low so do not panic if you contract the virus during your pregnancy. 2. Currently, there is no evidence of the virus in breast milk. Given that the virus is spread through respiratory droplets, mothers should wash their hands and consider wearing a face mask to minimize infants’ exposure to the virus. Should you decide to use a breast pump to express milk, Wash hands before touching any pump or bottle parts and before expressing breast milk. 3. Focus on building a stronger immunity to ensure that even if you do catch the virus, you would have a strong enough immune system to fight it.
Dr. Abhay Vispute, Medical Director of SRV Group of Hospitals said; We knew that this would be a complicated surgery and I am extremely proud of the entire team who worked tirelessly to ensure that both the mother and the child are hale and hearty.We are fighting on a war foot basis right now with a singular mission in mind: “To make Mumbai Corona Free” and while doing so we intend to save as many lives as possible and as fast as possible.
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