With the coronavirus disease sweeping across countries and some hospitals being overrun with patients, the fear that mothers giving birth around this time are experiencing is palpable.?
While hospitals cope with the crisis, many pregnant women are worried about how the disease could affect their babies and wondering if maternity wards may experience a shortage of beds, staff or supplies.?So much so, in some cases, pregnant women are considering avoiding hospitals entirely and instead opting to give birth at home or in a birthingcentre.?
Countries across the world take the best possible steps to face the surge of coronavirus patients, many health facilities have had no option but to crack down on delivery rules for women going into labour, many hospitals have now barred family and doulas from the delivery room.??
Apart from that others are taking the best possible precautions to protect newborn infants from the deadly virus.?
One hospital in Thailand is taking extra special care of newborn babies amid the coronavirus pandemic by giving them adorable little face shields.?
Paolo Hospital in Samut Prakan province of Thailand recently posted adorable pictures of babies in the delivery ward of the hospital all dressed up in Personal Protection Equipment (PPE).
"We have extra protection measures for little ones and friends, with a face shield for newborns. So cute!" the hospital wrote on their Facebook post. "Congratulations to all mothers and dads.
Many have thanked the hospital for going the extra step to protect newborns from the highly contagious disease,?"So cute," wrote one Facebook user, while another said: "Nurses doing a great job."?
While others wondered if the shields were uncomfortable for the little ones. Some offered a perspective saying that babies are too occupied sleeping to realize anything about the huge cover on their faces.?
Thailand has imposed a lockdown till April 15 to contain the spread of COVID-19. The country has recorded over 2,300 confirmed cases of coronavirus.
According to a?Guardian?report, so far scientists have found no evidence that mothers who test positive for Covid-19 can transmit it to their fetuses in-utero.?Once the baby is born, the?CDC recommends?a temporary mother-infant separation for mothers who have COVID-19, and offers guidance on breastfeeding precautions.
A New Scientist report states that doctors in China have been cautious, and people who arediagnosed with the virus shortly before giving birth have been separated fromtheir newborn babies for two weeks, in this scenario the babies were formula-fed, andappeared to be healthy.