Bump in deliveries expected in early 2021 thanks to covid19

DIRECTOR of Women's Health Dr Adesh Sirjusingh said health officials are preparing for a bump in deliveries early next year due to covid19.

He was speaking on Wednesday during the covid19 virtual media briefing.

He reported that TT has an average of 16,000 deliveries in any year, but in the last couple of years there has been a decline. He also reported that during the covid19 period there were slightly fewer deliveries than last year.

"We have been coping exceedingly well in the system."

He explained that for the period August–January there is usually in rise in the number of deliveries, about 300-400 more in these "busy periods".

"Many have been asking whether we are going to see an increased number of pregnancies as a result of covid19. And we are going to make policy decisions. So we are expecting...to see a sustained rise in February and March next year."

He said that internationally there has been an upsurge in adverse maternal and newborn outcomes both in developing and developed countries owing to covid19. He reported, however, that locally there has been no upsurge in adverse outcomes.

Sirjusingh said that in other countries healthcare facilities have been overwhelmed, staff depleted, there has been a lack of personal protective equipment and other resources, and a collapse in transportation and ambulance services. He pointed to a case in Jamaica where a young woman with flu-like symptoms was shuttled around to several institutions and subsequently died. It was later discovered that she did not have covid19.

He said that in TT, however, all maternity-related facilities continued to function, though there were some inconveniences with covid19 preventative measures. He added that there were protocols and isolation procedures in place for any woman who was pregnant and infected with covid19.

On the risks of pregnant women contracting covid19 he said a well woman who is infected faced no more risk than any other person regarding her and her baby. He added, however, that high-risk cases included those who were: overweight or obese; diabetic; having a pre-existing medical condition like a heart condition, hypertension or sickle-cell disease; or women aged 35 and above.

Sirjusingh also stressed that pregnant women should not believe the myth that they could wait three months before they visit a healthcare institution. He said that findings show that two out of five pregnant women (40 per cent) waited until the second half of their pregnancy before doing so.