Pregnancy & COVID-19: AMU sets operating procedure to deal coronavirus and pregnancy

What COVID 19 could do to the pregnancy? The pregnant women grope in the dark and to address their misery, the department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) has made the periodic evaluation of the respiratory status of the pregnant women compulsory. The department has taken a slew of steps for the safety to lessen their pent-up anxiety. It has established a new labour room and OT for the purpose.

The Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, headed by Professor Tamkin Khan has released the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and guidelines on the recommendations of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and World Health Organisation Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) to prevent the transmission of Corona virus infection from mother to baby.

The guidelines have been prepared by Dr Enas Mushtaque and Dr Amina Kureishy under the guidance of Professor Tamkin Khan (Chairperson, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology).

“These SOPs and guidelines have been duly adopted at JNMC keeping in mind the infrastructure and resources available supported by Evidence-Based Medicine,” said Prof Tamkin.

She informed that AMU Vice-Chancellor, Professor Tariq Mansoor has also allowed the use of Regional Resource Training Centre (RRTC) as a COVID 19 Isolation Unit and that with the help of Prof Shahid Siddiqui (Principal, JNMC), Prof Haris Khan, (Medical Superintendent) and Prof Afzal Anees, a new fully functional labour room and an OT complex have been established in less than a week.

“In line with the SOPs, the interns and counsellors at the COVID screening desk will screen the patients to get the information about travel history, and whether they belong to hot spots areas,” said Prof Tamkin adding that the testing procedures for pregnant women are the same as others.

She further said that both suspected COVID positive pregnant women and COVID positive women would be made to deliver the babies in the cubicles they are admitted in to avoid cross infections. For Caesarean Sections, these women will be shifted to COVID suspect maternity OTs.

Prof Tamkin informed that there would be periodic evaluations of the respiratory status of pregnant women to search for symptoms of breathing difficulties and Regional Anesthesia instead of General Anesthesia will be given to COVID positive and suspected pregnant women.

She pointed out that the evidence so far, limited to a small number of cases, seems to suggest that pregnant women are not at a higher risk of developing complications from Corona virus compared with their non-pregnant counterparts.

“However, we do not yet know what long-term impact, if any, Corona virus could have on their babies, if they catch the virus during pregnancy,” said Prof Tamkin.

The guidelines recommend lower doses of Aspirin, Tocolysis and Magnesium Sulphate in the case to case bases and to strictly avoid intakes of ibuprofen and indomethacin.