Stressful, but expectant mothers navigate resolutely
Neha Saini
Tribune News Service
Amritsar, July 27
Pregnancy might be a soulful experience for mothers, but it proved to be a nerve-wrecking one for many expectant mothers as tackling Covid-19 became the priority of the healthcare system. With grim situation on the ground, pandemic left many of them in lurch.
Word of caution
- Wash hands frequently; sanitise surfaces and items of daily use.
- Restrict unnecessary outdoor visits, avoid touching surfaces.
- Limit people visiting your home, especially after the baby is born; do not touch a newborn without washing hands.
- Avoid unnecessary stress and panic
Several studies conducted across the globe reported women wanting to delay pregnancy due to pandemic, high rates of anxiety and depression reported among expectant mothers, in general. Adding to their woes were the health service disruptions during the lockdown. Antenatal services, including routine checkups, scans, institutional deliveries and follow ups were also affected during the pandemic. There was an increase in the cases of anxiety, intrauterine deaths (IUDs) and even miscarriage among women in city.
“The Covid-19 pandemic took a huge toll on the ante-natal health in city as we witnessed a surge in cases of anaemia, growth retardation, IUDs, preterm deliveries and unwanted pregnancies during the time. It was a challenge to cope with such high cases of maternal health related issues as the lockdown disrupted visitations, supply of medicines, nutritional care and increased psychological stress among women,” said Dr Meenakshi, a medical officer and senior gynecologist, Civil Hospital. Civil Hospital has been conducting mandatory Covid-19 tests on pregnant women and also providing them with counselling on how to deal with Covid-19 related stress.
‘On an average, we are conducting 40-50 tests every day, all of them are expectant mothers. Since there are a lot of misconceptions regarding Covid-19 infection risk among pregnant women, we have been counseling and educating women about its do’s and don’t’s,” said Dr Charanjit Singh, SMO, Civil Hospital.
While the ICMR research revealed that pregnant women do not appear more likely to contract the infection than the general population, Covid testing in pregnant women is being conducted as per the ICMR guidelines. But more than the risk of infection, it’s the stress and anxiety related to the fear psychosis that has done the maximum damage, say doctors.
“A majority of women, who conceived during the lockdown, reported feeling isolated and worried about baby’s health. What concerned us more were the unrelated and unreported factors regarding Covid-19 on baby’s health. There was and still is, a fear that prevails among expectant and new mothers about the risks of Covid-19,” said Dr Meenakshi. “While we can assess the immediate effects of Covid-19 related stress, the long term consequences on mother and child’s health can be much more devastating, including stunted physical and intellectual growth,” she added.
A scary road to motherhood
Dr Raveenpal Kaur, 31, a dentist, was among the many frontline warriors working during Covid-19 lockdown. She was approaching her last trimester when the lockdown was announced. “It was a scary experience as suddenly everything got changed. Every day, I would go to bed worried sick how the next day was going to pass,” she shared. She delivered her baby 15 days back and is more worried now that the cases are on a rise.
Gurvinder Kaur, another expectant mother, who had come to Amritsar to her parents’ house in Patiala for her delivery, said she suffered a tragedy when she lost her baby preterm. “The stress induced by Covid 19 took a toll on me,” said her husband Gurvinder Singh, a Punjab Police personnel.
Shaina Khanna, 27, a teacher at a private school in city and a new mother, delivered her baby girl a week after lockdown was first announced on March 22. “No one had any clue or information regarding Covid at the time and the sudden lockdown scared me as I did not know what was going to happen if I delivered immediately. I was scared of anyone touching me or my new born and infecting us,” she shared.
The silver lining
While the Covid concerns loom large, a few young mothers share that they have experienced some benefits of the pandemic as well. Puneet Kaur, 36, a makeup artist, who had her second child in the month of April, said she got the full support of her husband. “During my first pregnancy, it was different, but this time, my husband and the entire family was with me, helping me take care of the baby during the initial difficult days. It was really good and relieving.”
Another mother said during the crucial 40-day period after birth, she got to spent quality time with her husband, courtesy lockdown.
