KABUL (Pajhwok): Around 116 million babies would be born across the globe -- a quarter of them in South Asia -- under the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic, UNICEF said on Thursday.
Approximately 29 million of these babies would be born in South Asia. They are projected to be born up to 40 weeks after the COVID-19 pandemic, which is currently straining health.
South Asian countries with the expected highest numbers of births in the nine months since the COVID-19 pandemic declaration are: India (20 million), Pakistan (1 million).
The UN agency said the rapid spread of COVID-19 across South Asia meant new mothers and newborns would be greeted by harsh realities, including lockdowns and curfews and health centers overwhelmed with response efforts.
Supply and equipment shortages and a lack of sufficient skilled birth attendants were cited as additional challenges. Health workers, including midwives, are redeployed to treat COVID-19 patients.
While COVID-19 containment measures are essential, UNICEF warned it could disrupt life-saving health services such as childbirth care, putting millions of pregnant mothers and their babies at great risk.
UNICEF cautioned although evidence suggested that pregnant mothers were not more affected by COVID-19 than others, countries needed to ensure they still had access to antenatal, delivery and postnatal services.
Sick newborns need emergency services as they are at high risk of death. New families require care to ensure the health and well-being of mothers, support to start breastfeeding, and to get medicines, vaccines and nutrition to keep their babies healthy.
On behalf of mothers everywhere, UNICEF issued an urgent appeal to governments and health care providers to save lives in the coming months by:
- Helping pregnant women to receive antenatal checkups, skilled delivery care, postnatal care services, and care related to COVID-19 as needed;
- Ensuring health workers are provided with the necessary personal protective equipment and get priority testing and vaccination once a COVID-19 vaccine becomes available so that can deliver high quality care to all pregnant women and newborn babies during the pandemic;
- Guaranteeing that all infection prevention and control measures are in place in health facilities during childbirth and immediately after;
- Allowing health care workers to reach pregnant women and new mothers through home visits, encouraging women living in remote areas to use maternal waiting homes, and by using mobile health strategies for teleconsultations;
- Training, protecting and equipping health workers with clean birth kits to attend home births where health facilities are closed;
- Allocating resources to lifesaving services and supplies for maternal and child health.
While it is not yet known whether the virus is transmitted from a mother to her baby during pregnancy and delivery, UNICEF recommends that all pregnant women:
- Follow precautions to protect themselves from exposure to the virus, closely monitor themselves for symptoms of COVID-19 and seek advice from the nearest designated facility if they have concerns or experience symptoms;
- Take the same precautions to avoid COVID-19 infection as other people: practice physical distancing, avoid physical gatherings and use online health services;
- Seek medical care early in if they live in affected or at-risk areas and have fever, cough or difficulty breathing;
- Continue breastfeeding their baby even if they are infected or suspect being infected as the virus has not been found in samples of breastmilk. Mothers with COVID-19 should wear a mask when feeding their baby; wash hands before and after touching the baby; and routinely clean and disinfect surfaces;
- Continue to hold the newborn and perform skin-to-skin care;
- Ask their midwife or doctor where they feel is the safest place to give birth and have a birth plan in place to reduce anxiety and to ensure they get to the place on time;
- Continue medical support, including routine immunizations, after the baby is born.
UNICEF called for immediate investment in health workers - including community health workers - with the right training, who are equipped with the right medicines to ensure every mother and newborn was cared for by a safe pair of hands to prevent and treat complications during pregnancy, delivery and birth.
Jean Gough, director of UNICEF Regional Office, said: “The life-threating situation of millions of women and adolescent girls, as well as newborns, in South Asia cannot be ignored. The COVID-19 outbreak has instilled fear among mothers to seek health services due to the fear of getting infected.
“At the same time, many now unfortunately are being deprived of emergency care due to strained health services and lockdowns. Critical workers such as community health workers and midwives need full support.
“In this time of crisis, we all must work together to make sure every pregnant mother receives the support she needs to give birth safely, and that women who want to delay or space pregnancies have the supplies and information to do so,” she concluded.
pr/pk
