The COVID-19 pandemic has long been living in the sides of us, but you know the fear of a mom to have the virus coexist with her newborn in an unseen space.
Today, expecting moms should be reminded: fear not. Just prepare.
In an interview with Panay News Exclusives, Dr. Sharon Faith Bullo-Pagunsan, the only OB-gynecologist specialized in infectious disease in the islands of Panay and Guimaras shared her insights on pregnancy as well as some factors to consider when expecting moms are about to give birth especially in the midst of a health crisis.
For the record, Dr. Pagunsan said, there are no cases of pregnant women positive for COVID-19 in Western Visayas since the start of the pandemic until June.
“First of all, since the start of the pandemic in March unil June, zero pa kita in Western Visayas, specifically in Iloilo City and Iloilo Province. So everything started sang nagdamo ang mga nagsululod nga LSIs and OFWs nga nagbalalik sa Iloilo and other parts sang Western Visayas. Nagstart appear ang mga positive cases,” she said.
She added that these pregnant patients were not from the local community but those coming from Manila. However, they were immediately contained in facilities, she said.
Dr. Pagunsan then cited data from the Department of Health (DOH) in Region 6 as of Aug. 10, 2020.
“Sa sini nga data they (DOH) told me nga two cases in Capiz province, nine in Iloilo, 15 in Negros Occidental, three from Bacolod City and 18 in Iloilo City. So garnering a total of 47 cases all in all,” she said.
Data were collated in July until August this year.
Dr. Pagunsan furthered: “But the thing is almost all of these positive confirmed covid cases are asymptomatic. And only one in Bacolod City exhibited mild symptoms but everbody recovered well.”
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Can a pregnant mom infect her baby?
Dr. Pagunsan said there’s insufficient evidence to support the claim.
“Ang symptoms similar lang sa nagabusong. Even the management is also similar. Sa mga non-pregnant women, wala sang naglain. However, we were trying to look at the cases of our pregnant patients. Since the start of this pandemic, pregnant patients were one of those groups nga neglected because itâs also difficult to get into these cases sa mga pregnant persons,” she said.
Adding, “However, eventually we in our Philippine Infectious Disease Society for Obstetrics and Gynecology made our own guidance for healthcare workers and all our practitioning OB-GYNE kag mga midwives nga nagapabata kag nagahelp manage sa aton mga pregannt patients para may guidance kita on how to go about it once we encounter COVID cases in our pregnant patients.”
If you compare a pregnant mother to an ordinary non-preganant person, they have different immune system, she said.
“May mga cases nga na-found out nga mother was negative but the baby was positive so in another way pwede sia ma consider nga basi malatnan lang sia sang healthcare worker nga nag-handle sa iya. Meaning the infection ang nakwa pagkabata na.”
She added: “Although may iban nga articles nga nagasiling nga may mga nakita sila nga presence of the virus sa placenta pa lang which is inside, but up to now we still don’t have the established (info) gid kung how true is this.”
Dr. Pagunsan emphasized that, usually, “positive mothers can have negative babies,” which implies that “not all COVID-positive pregnant patients would give birth to COVID-positive babies.”
“We recommended RT-PCR screening for 37-38 weeks of pregnancy just the patient goes into labor,” Pagunsan said.
“Gina advocate namon is to let all the rest of the healthcare workers, the mdwives and the obstetricians to take care of prenatal checkups of these pregnant patients,” the doctor added.
Dr. Pagunsan highlighted that screening for pregnant women is now free thus encouraging them to subject themselves to such RT-PCR tests.
âWe are allowed screening all our pregnant patients as long as it is feasible in their areas. This screening is available for free. Charge to Philhealth,â she said.
The free RT-PCR screening are to those expecting moms in their 37th-38th week of pregnancy.
Dr. Pagunsan is currently an active consultant in the city’s Iloilo Doctors Hospital and Iloilo Mission Hospital./PN
