An intense cry pierced the eerie silence and everyone burst into laughter sighing a big relief and satisfaction. The cry of a new born baby announced the victory of undaunted spirit and rock solid determination of the medicos against all the odds to ensure a safe birth.
The expectant mother, her health condition was fast deteriorating, tested Covid Positive and there was no infrastructure to conduct delivery of a Covid patient. All these put the doctors and nurses of a rural hospital in a great dilemma.
On duty doctor Anirban Bhowmik along with nurses of Teliamura sub-divisional Hospital had not much time to think – so they decided with full confidence to go for delivery in the sub-divisional Hospital.
According to the doctor, the patient was brought to the hospital at early morning on Friday from the Maharanipur area under Teliamura. She tested Covid positive and on top of that, her health condition was not stable enough for referral.
“At around 5:30 to 5:45 the patient was brought to the hospital and a mandatory Covid Test result came positive. However, we did not have any facility to conduct deliveries of Covid 19 infected mothers here, at the first place we decided that she would be referred to the district hospital in Khowai. But, her health condition was not good”, Dr Bhowmik said.
“We took proper safety measures. Dressed in PPE kits, we took the patient to designated place and conducted a safe delivery”, Dr Bhowmik said while his colleagues were applauding his decision not to refer the patient and risk a life.
Meanwhile, local media got the information and assembled in the Hospital. Soon, three medical personnel with much dreaded white colour PPE kits came out and posed with the new born maintaining a safe distance.
The doctor told the media that both the new mother and baby were healthy and they were sent to home isolation as per Covid protocol at their residence.
“Both of them are healthy. The baby had cried after the delivery, passed urine and everything was normal. They were now suggested for home isolation at their residence”, the doctor said.
