Docs at ICH attend to 64 deliveries in 24 hrs, highest during shutdown

Chennai

Doctors rushing from patient to patient from morning to night; cries of women in labour pain and staff assuring that everything was going to be alright; and newborns being rushed for testing – these were the scenes that played out at the Institute of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and Government Hospital for Women and Children, Egmore on Tuesday, which recorded 64 births over the course of 24 hours, a record during the lockdown.

The hospital has a team of about 15 people who handle an average 50 births a day. “But this was an unexpected increase. Not only are we in a pandemic, but this is also dengue season. So it was important that we take care of both the mother and the child,” said Director Dr Vijaya Subramanian.

There were four COVID-positive women among them, who were treated in separate wards. Though the chances for vertical transmission from mother to the child is almost negligible, the staff were not willing to take any risks, she added.

“The biggest challenge is attending to the patients in PPE. The chances of droplets being spread occurs when the mothers shout or cry due to labour pain, and so we need to be careful then. The risk of transmission is higher when removing the gear. So staff are instructed to take time removing PPE, as droplets could spread if they hurry. This is the biggest challenge we face, because we’ve had staff testing positive, some even twice,” said Dr Vijaya.

Unlike dengue, the SOP of which is clear to these specialists, COVID is a new disease that has healthcare providers still learning the best practices. “Working without fail-safe guidelines can be difficult. Our staff is also putting themselves at risk and staying away from their loved ones. But we are doing our best despite all this, and yesterday was proof of that,” she said, commending the staff for their service.