New Delhi, Feb 17 (IANS) A 28-year old woman, suffering from swine flu, successfully gave birth in a Delhi hospital. The woman also overcame the life threatening viral disease, a statement said Tuesday.
According to health experts, pregnant women are more prone to swine flu which is much more life threatening to both mother and the foetus compared to any other individual. Only 10 percent of such cases can be controlled.
The patient was admitted to the department of chest medicine at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital Jan 25 when she was 29-week pregnant. When she was diagnosed, she had fever with cough and progressive breathlessness, which are the absolute symptoms of swine flu.
Her X-ray examination showed bilateral pneumonia and decreasing oxygen saturation level which required very high oxygen support. Tamiflu, a medicine to combat swine flu, was started. Her H1N1 RTPCR was positive.
Delhi has witnessed 1,608 swine flu cases till now with six deaths. Sir Ganga Ram Hospital witnessed the first death due to swine flu Dec 26, last year.
The situation of the patient needed to be handled carefully because she entered the third trimester of her pregnancy, said Arup Basu, chairperson, department of chest medicine, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital.
"The dilemma was how to save both the mother and her baby. The baby was premature for delivery but since oxygen level of mother was already at critical level, the baby inside the womb was oxygen-deprived. A delivery before 32 weeks would have resulted in higher risk to the baby's life," Basu said.
A team of doctors took a collective decision to deliver the baby as soon as possible but the problem was of the baby's underdeveloped lungs.
"To overcome this problem, steroids were given to enhance the child's underdeveloped lungs. Efforts finally paid off and a healthy 1,345 gram baby was born Jan 29," it said.
The next attempt was to save the mother who was already into adult respiratory distress syndrome.
"She was resuscitated with non-invasive ventilator and high oxygen. She also developed complications of secondary sepsis deep vein thrombosis which were tackled with antibiotics, blood thinners and other supportive therapy. Both mother and the baby are recovering well and would be discharged shortly," said Geeta Mediratta, senior consultant, department of obstetrics and gynaecology, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital.
She said pregnant women infected with H1N1 can rapidly develop blood pressure and pulse rate imbalance, which acutely affect lung function and facilitate the development of pneumonia, acute pulmonary oedema (flooding of lungs with water), and other respiratory illnesses.
Archana Dhawan Bajaj, obstetrician and gynaecologist, Delhi-based Nurture clinic, said: "The uterus grows during pregnancy, it compresses the diaphragm and the area where the lungs are, and there is less air movement in lungs, so any type of infection can get aggravated during pregnancy."
Basu said swine flu can be prevented, if pregnant women take the vaccine.
The Indian team will start its Super-8 campaign in the T20 World Cup 2024 with a match against Af
Pakistan is nervous after India attacked Pakistan. Pakistan's condition is so bad that it is now
Heavy Rain in Delhi- Heavy rain in NCR caused heavy waterlogging on the roads. Due to heavy water
While there is a demand for making laws for population control in the country, politics has also
Cruelty: Salty water being sold in the name of Remdesivir injection, the police nabbed the gang
The second wave of the Coronavirus is wreaking havoc in the country. More than 2.50 lakh new pati
E-visa gives fillip to Tourism Sector: Economic Survey
New Delhi, Feb 27 (IANS) Easing of the Indian tourism visa regime through the expansion of Visa
The rupee on Monday gained 12 paise to close at 79.78 against the dollar. This is the one-week hi
A Palestinian baby girl born 17 days earlier was killed during the Gaza war. The newborn girl was
Himachal to host conference of public service commissions
Shimla, March 5 (IANS) The Himachal Pradesh Public Service Commission (HPPSC) will host a three
Gadar 2: Sunny Deol's outspoken words on Pakistan-India relationship, told- political game
Gadar 2: Sunny Deol is soon gearing up to create a mutiny on the screen. The actor is reuniting w
