Birthing Life in A Pandemic: Fear grips mothers-to-be

Pregnancy is a stressful and overwhelming experience in itself. Add to that a global pandemic and the whole ordeal can become even more difficult and frightening.

Amidst the Covid-19 outbreak, 20-year old Ferdousi, a pregnant mother of one, was expecting to deliver her second child. However, she lives in an area that has become a "hotspot" for coronavirus.

While she wanted to deliver her baby at the local Upazila Health Complex, it has become impossible right now as the hospital currently has 33 coronavirus positive staffers.

"I'm having trouble breathing due to severe anxiety. I need to go to a doctor immediately but I don't know where to go in this situation. I don't feel the hospitals are safe," said Ferdousi.

"I'm very anxious about the whole thing as my husband lives abroad and I don't have any men in the family. My mother is old and sick," she added.

Ferdousi, who was married off at 16, gave birth to her first daughter via c-section two years ago.

In a situation so dire, she is not alone.

The coronavirus pandemic has uprooted the pregnancy plans of many and now, an overwhelming majority of them are going through both physical and psychological stress due to their antenatal appointments and finding a safe delivery place (hospitals or birthing centres) to welcome their newborns into this world.

Their fear is rational as some news reports have already said that hospitals are running out of medical staffers due to the current situation and people with emergencies are not being treated properly.

On April 24, a report went viral on social media about a 20-year old pregnant woman, Tania, being denied treatment at three hospitals although she had to run around for around nine hours at a stretch to get to those places.

Although Tania's delivery date was May 3, her water broke (amniotic membrane rupture) on that very day and she was in immediate need for hospitalisation for a safe delivery.

She was first refused by Mohammadpur Government Maternity Hospital, which has shut down its delivery facilities. The other two hospitals, Ad-Deen Hospital and Azimpur Maternity Hospital, refused to treat her as those suspected her to be Covid-19 positive.

By this time, Tania began feeling like she might not survive as her lower abdomen had hardened and she was feeling unwell, the report read.

The ongoing pandemic has also forced many pregnant women to skip their antenatal appointments, even if they were unwell or facing severe health complications.

While some are avoiding check-ups in fear of coming in contact with coronavirus patients, a large number of them are not being able to due to the unavailability of their ob-gyns.

Nujahat Jebin, who is in her 35th week of pregnancy and has been suffering from thalassemia, is currently facing a dire situation because her gynaecologist is currently unavailable.

"Since I have thalassemia, the doctor earlier said the baby isn't getting enough oxygen. To ensure that the baby gets oxygen, I needed to go to the clinic regularly, but now the clinic is so overcrowded.

"Besides, the movement of the baby has also decreased and I have also felt a pain in my lower abdomen," said Jebin. "I don't know what's going on but I'm scared."

Fourteen weeks pregnant, Jannatul Ferdous needed to go to her check-ups scheduled this month, but she too couldn't make it due to the unavailability of her doctor.

"I also needed a change of medication, but I cannot contact my doctor. I needed the hepatitis B vaccine, but I feel so unsafe outside in the middle of this crisis," she said.

According to the interviewees, given the current global pandemic the world is facing, many obstetricians are increasing the interval between face-to-face visits and encouraging them with telemedicine. However, this is not a viable option for many, especially those who require close examination or tests.

Taslima Afrin, who is expecting to deliver her baby on the June 2, told this correspondent that she was supposed to do an ultrasonogram, check her haemoglobin level as she is anaemic, and take a random blood sugar test. "However, this is not possible over phone and I am now told to stay home," she said.

Priyanka Saha, another mother-to-be in Gaibandha, said she has had a severe cough for the past week and her antibiotics are not working properly.

"The doctor suggested seeing a chest specialist for this, which is not possible from here," said Priyanka, who has a history of a miscarriage.

Dr Nawsheen Sharmin Purobi, a renowned gynaecologist, however said that they have not been discouraging anyone to come to visit the hospitals and have been attending emergency cases. However, we prefer dealing with it over phone or online platforms if the problem is not severe.

"Our patients also prefer not to visit due to the current situation. What is more surprising is that we are getting a lot of queries from patients all over the country on our online platform -- "Dr Purobi's Help Desk" (a Facebook Page)," she added.

She also suggested that pregnant women do not get stressed as it can have adverse impacts on the pregnancy, such as high blood pressure, high sugar level or premature contractions.

AKM Mohiul Islam, director general of family planning (DGFP), also believes that maternal health, such as, care during pregnancy, post-pregnancy and childbirth, are issues that demand special attention and treatment, and any interruption may increase risks.

A large number of pregnant women also said that they were discharged early from hospitals to limit the risk of inadvertent exposure and infection, while the hospitals' staffers and the obstetrics teams have been trying to minimise the number of people who enter the hospital.

Nazlee Shamima Ferdousi is also with child. She said she has planned to get admitted to hospital 13 days before her due date. "I'm lonely here due to the current situation. Both my mother and mother-in-law are outside the city and they cannot help me right now."

A number of mothers-to-be also noted that they were unable to do the necessary shopping for essentials, such as diapers, baby wipes, and formula milk, and are now facing difficulties to manage commodities.