Pregnant women find it tough to get a bed in city, turn to Capital
We have 215 beds but are serving 280 patients. This time, most pregnant women who test positive for Covid are also showing symptoms, which was not the case earlier.
RAKESH GUPTA, director, GIMS
NOIDA: It took two days for Noida Sector 31 resident Utsav Kumar to find a bed for his pregnant and Covid positive wife Aditi Mittal and that too in Delhi.
“She had a fever and her oxygen level was down to 93. She was earlier admitted at Sharda Hospital in Greater Noida but we had to remove her from there as the staff was overworked and there was no one to look after her. We also tried to get admission at Government Institute of Medical Science (GIMS) hospital but no beds were available there as well,” said Kumar.
In Gautam Budh Nagar, currently three hospitals -- GIMS, Sharda hospital and Fortis hospital -- are admitting Covid-19 pregnant women.
Due to changes in their bodies and immune systems, pregnant women can be badly affected by some respiratory infections, according to the World Health Organization.
Dr Nimmi Chutani, head of gynaecology department in Sharda Hospital admitted that the staff were under pressure. “We are getting at least four to five pregnant Covid patients at the hospital everyday and have helped in delivering children of
three women this month as well,” she said.
At GIMS, officials say that there is a shortage of beds for all Covid patients. “The hospital currently has only 215 beds but there are 280 patients that we have to attend to. This includes four pregnant women,” said Prof. (Brig) Rakesh Gupta, director, GIMS.
He added that last year, pregnant women who tested positive for Covid were mostly asymptomatic. “This time, most pregnant women who test positive are showing symptoms. The situation is severe this time around,” he said.
Dr Neha Mishra, associate professor at the department of obstetrics and gynaecology, GIMS, said that the hospital helped deliver three babies to Covid patients in the past three weeks who were also found to be Covid positive. She, however, could not confirm whether the virus was passed on from the mother.
“We are getting four to five pregnant Covid positive patients per day but not all of them need to be admitted. Since the surge in Covid cases, we have helped eight such patients deliver,” said Dr Mishra.
Officials at Fortis Hospital
Noida also said that they are getting at least four to five Covid positive pregnant patients every day.
“Since the hospital staff is overworked, we advise most of the mild and asymptomatic patients to take phone/video call consultations from our doctors so that they stay safe and can prevent spread of the virus further,” said Dr Aradhna Singh, senior consultant at department of gynaecology, Fortis Hospital Noida. The hospital has 100 beds in its Covid ward and there are two isolation beds in the labour room for Covid positive pregnant women.