Obstetrics and Gynecology Specialist Prof. Dr. Mehmet Emin Soysal emphasized that pregnant women should be extra cautious regarding the coronavirus (COVID-19) and said: “Pregnant women must strictly adhere to our government’s call to stay at home. In addition, if pregnant women show no symptoms outside the home, we do not recommend wearing gloves or masks.”
Prof. Dr. Soysal provided important information about the effects of the coronavirus, which continues to spread worldwide as well as in Turkey, on pregnant women. Drawing attention to an interesting point in his statement, Soysal emphasized that there is no scientific evidence regarding whether pregnant women are more likely to contract the coronavirus. However, he pointed out that due to changes in the respiratory systems of pregnant women, some virus-related diseases tend to be more severe and that it is known they contract pneumonia more quickly. Soysal said: “For this reason, we consider pregnant women with heart and lung conditions as high risk. Pregnant women should strictly adhere to our government’s stay-at-home call and wash their hands with soap for at least 20 seconds, and clean them with disinfectants or cologne containing 80% alcohol.”
“If there are no symptoms, we do not recommend wearing gloves or masks”
Prof. Dr. Soysal also addressed the issue of pregnant women who have to work, especially healthcare workers, and gave the following recommendations:
“For pregnant women who are working, if they are not in high-risk environments like healthcare workers, we do not recommend anything other than following social distancing rules. If pregnant women show no symptoms outside the home, we do not recommend wearing gloves or masks. For pregnant women showing suspected COVID-19 symptoms such as fever, cough, or shortness of breath, we recommend staying at home for 7 days and waiting for the complaints to resolve, as long as the condition does not worsen. Pregnant women whose condition worsens or whose complaints do not subside within 7 days should apply to the hospital. Pregnant women diagnosed with COVID-19 but not requiring hospitalization should follow social isolation rules at home.”
Can mothers infected with coronavirus breastfeed their babies?
Soysal also gave recommendations on what pregnant women infected with the coronavirus should do, pointing out that miscarriage and premature birth rates in infected pregnant women are unknown. He emphasized that there is no scientific evidence yet on whether babies born to infected mothers will have the disease. “We do not know whether these babies will develop any illness, but we believe that they should be closely monitored,” he said.
Except for cases where pregnant women with poor respiratory conditions need to undergo a cesarean, there is no objection to COVID-19 positive pregnant women giving birth normally. However, we do not yet know the likelihood of transmission to the baby during delivery. In a limited number of cases, the virus has not been found in amniotic fluid. It is not yet clear whether there is any risk in mothers breastfeeding their babies. It is claimed that the COVID-19 virus does not pass into breast milk. However, for mothers who wish to breastfeed, we recommend that they strictly follow mask and hygiene rules, keep the baby in another room, or if in the same room, stay at least 2 meters away behind a curtain.”
İHA
Source: cnnturk.com