E-Paper
53 newborns by Covid-19 positive mothers at Pune’s Sassoon hospital; not all free of virus
Hospital authorities confirm babies tested positive never came in physical contact with mothers after the birth.
Pune Since the outbreak of the pandemic, Pune has seen Covid-19 positive mothers give birth to 55 babies.
Sassoon General hospital has seen the birth of 53 such deliveries, while the PMC’s Covid-19 dedicated Chandumama Sonawane Hospital has seen two such births.
Doctors at Sassoon are non-committal on the exact number of new-borns who contracted the Covid-19 infection, caused by the Sars-Cov-2 virus, though confirming that the babies who tested positive never came in physical contact with the mother after the birth.
Dr Aarti Kinikar, head, paediatric ward, Sassoon General Hospital said, “We have had 53 deliveries since we started a dedicated Covid-19 maternity ward, which also includes four pairs of twins. While most of the babies did taste negative, we have also reported a few cases wherein the babies tested positive for the virus. We test the baby immediately after delivery and on the fifth day. During the delivery the woman wears an N-95 mask and everyone in the operation theatre wears a PPE kit to avoid any possible transmission. However, positive cases suggest a possible trans-placental transmission of the virus, which means that the virus was transferred from the mother’s womb to the baby before the delivery. There have been certain cases across the globe that suggest this possibility, which needs to be inspected further.”
While the WHO had initially stated that the virus is not transmitted from the mothers to the babies inside the womb, in April, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) stated that there is emerging evidence that transmission of virus is possible from mother to baby before, or during birth.
The first baby to be delivered from a Covid-19 positive mother at Sassoon hospital was a male child delivered on April 19. The child was born through a C-section.
