COVID-19: How pregnant women fare during lockdown, others

Pregnant women have different stories to tell during the partial or total lockdown ordered by the federal and various state governments following the novel COVID-19 outbreak. Some pregnant women who spoke to our reporter said getting antenatal care during the period was not as smooth as it was before the outbreak of the COVID-19. They […]

Pregnant women have different stories to tell during the partial or total lockdown ordered by the federal and various state governments following the novel COVID-19 outbreak.

Some pregnant women who spoke to our reporter said getting antenatal care during the period was not as smooth as it was before the outbreak of the COVID-19. They said that has affected how they accessed health care and other activities.

Mrs Vivian Nwaorisara who accesses her antenatal service in one of the private hospitals in Jabi, Abuja, said she has not been attending the antenatal because she learnt that the risk of getting infected with COVID-19 was higher in pregnant women.

She said the hospital at the initial stage put all the measures, such as hand washing, use of sanitisers and good hygiene in place but when it became fewer, and the issue of lockdown came, she stopped going to the hospital.

“Even when I had appointment because the fear and tension was so much then, I had to go back home. I am sure the doctors and other medical staff are also afraid of contracting the virus so, they stopped the antenatal classes too,” she said.

She said they were later grouped on WhatsApp platform where they have been attending antenatal classes on appointment days. “I think that helps because there is no one to contact,” she said.

Grace Babalola who attends her antenatal classes in one of the Federal Capital Territory’s health centres said, she has been skeptical of going to the centre so that she can stay safe.

She said, though she was supposed to have been there for her appointment, she could not go because the lockdown.

Mrs Shuaibu, who said she has not stopped going to the clinic for her antenatal, added that they are attending to them regularly even though the doctors and nurses told them to make use of their face masks and also ensure they washed their hands regularly.

“I was not scared of going to the hospital because I need to be checked and assured that I and my baby are in good shape. The nurses and doctors are also attending to us,” she said.

One of the nurses at Kuje General Hospital who preferred anonymity said, they are there to attend to pregnant women, adding that what they have done is to adjust in many ways.

“Unlike before when the antenatal clinic was crowded, there is no cause for that now. We also ensure that anyone that comes to receive one service or the other observes the social distancing rule. We also make available hand washing facilities at the entrance of the hospital and  people are directed to wash their hands irrespective of whether you have washed before coming or not. The use of face mask has also become a norm in this place,” the nurse said.

She said pregnant women need a lot of care and shutting them out of hospitals would not be in their interest or that of their unborn babies.