BENGALURU: Doctors have found that pregnant women are not making frequent visits to hospitals for antenatal care and regular screenings, due to the fear of contracting Covid-19. This leads to complications and puts the lives of both the mother and child in danger, doctors warned.
“People, especially from Bengaluru Rural district, are not getting regular pregnancy check-ups done, fearing Covid cases at hospitals. But this will affect them adversely. Expectant mothers need to be screened for any abnormalities such as blood pressure, diabetes, anaemia and thyroid complications, and also, the baby has to be checked for adequate growth.
If there are any complications, they can be detected early and reduce morbidity,” said Dr Shravya S, consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist, K C General Hospital “If an anaemic mother does not visit a hospital, she will not receive iron calcium tablets. Iron deficiency cannot be combatted with diet alone, and also, family members do not usually notice these symptoms.
Anaemia affects the growth of the baby and the mother may lose more blood during delivery, becoming more anaemic,” she said. Dr Santosh Prabha, Resident Medical Officer, Vani Vilas Hospital, said that expectant mothers avoid hospitals as there are crowds at OPDs.
“But they should visit hospitals. If a mother is suffering from hypertension, she will have eclampsia that leads to convulsions during labour,” Dr Prabha said. However, more pregnant women are visiting hospitals now, as compared to earlier months of the pandemic, said Dr Savitha C, Head of Department, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Vani Vilas Hospital. “Women get gestational diabetes during pregnancy which needs to be detected early. Their sugar levels have to be controlled, or else it could lead to death of the baby in the uterus. Uncontrolled blood glucose levels can threaten the mother’s life too,” she said.