Management of COVID-19 Positive ANC Patients
Author(s): Anubha Dande and Guddi Laishram*
Abstract
SARS-CoV-2 is the causative organism for the corona virus disease. First it was detected in Wuhan, China in the month of December 2019 and there has been an exponential rise in the number of cases since then. Over 40 lakh cases of COVID-19 and at least 2.5 lakh mortalities worldwide were present around May 2020. However, there is very less evidence about the information regarding the clinical manifestations of antenatal women who have been infected with the corona virus. Due to the maternal physiological and immunological changes, the pregnant women can be more prone for the SARS-CoV-2 infection and its complicated clinical manifestations. The clinical presentation of SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) and MERS (Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome) during pregnancy gives an insight about the effects of COVID-19 viral infection. Intrauterine deaths, miscarriages, still births, fetal growth retardation and high neonatal fatality rates have been associated with SARS and MERS but with COVID-19 infection identical outcomes are seen like that of non-pregnant women. There is no greater risk of contracting the infection or having the severe consequences in pregnant women as compared to rest of the adult population of similar age. Moreover, transmission of virus to the baby during antenatal or intranasal period is not too common and also currently no evidence as such has been given. The outcome of the neonates of pregnant females who had COVID-19 viral infection is pretty good.
It is advised that pregnant females with covid infection should be treated in a facility with sufficient safety measures and isolation practices. The baby should be kept in a different room or kept at a safe distance from the mother. Breastfeeding is not restricted in these circumstances. These infection prevention and treatment ideas are applicable to medical facilities that provide medicine to ANC patients with confirmed novel corona virus or pregnant women under investigation in medical set ups such as medical specialty sorting, labor and delivery, recovery, and postpartum care.