Rising Covid infection among pregnant women sparks concern

Pregnant women in their 30s, one from Patiala and another from Ludhiana, died after being infected with the virus recently

The second Covid wave is impacting pregnant women in the state adversely and this has sent alarm bells ringing in the medical fraternity.

Rising Covid infection among pregnant women sparks concern

In the recent weeks, hundreds of women in their late 20s and 30s across the state have tested positive with over a dozen of them succumbing to the virus. Cases are only rising and doctors fear that such fatalities may further increase. According to doctors, two such deaths have been reported in the last two days alone when pregnant women in their 30s, one from Patiala and another from Ludhiana, died after being infected with the virus.

“Such severe complications in pregnant women were totally unheard of during the first wave. Doctors are witnessing a challenge attending to Covid positive pregnant women, whose number have increased substantially over the last few weeks. There is already a high positivity rate in the state and the number of pregnant women testing positive have increased proportionately,” said Dr Bishav Mohan, senior cardiologist at Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMCH), Ludhiana, and a member of the panel of doctors of the Dr KK Talwar committee to manage Covid-19 in Punjab.

“Out of every 100 pregnant women who test positive, 10 to 15 % of them now need advanced tertiary care. This percentage was barely 2% in the previous wave,” said a gynaecologist working in a state-run hospital, while requesting anonymity.

Faced with this major challenge, the doctors have devised a strategy to treat the Covid positive pregnant women.

“Saving both the mother and child is a highly challenging task faced by doctors in cases with severe complications. The mother’s safety is always on our priority and in severe cases, where saturation is falling very low, wherever we find that a woman is in an advanced state of pregnancy, our effort is to save both by facilitating a premature delivery,” added Dr Mohan.