Dubai: Covid-19 positive woman delivers healthy baby

A pregnant woman who had tested positive for Covid-19 has delivered a healthy baby at a local hospital in Dubai.

Suffering from preeclampsia and high blood pressure, Syeda Fariya reached Zulekha Hospital when she didn't feel very well before her delivery date. On her arrival, hospital staff examined her and determined the baby had to be delivered immediately as an emergency C-section.

Dr Bushra Gul, an obstetrics and gynaecology specialist at Zulekha Hospital, said that the medical team had planned for Fariya's care before she arrived at the hospital. The plan included a separate route for her so that she did not interact with other patients and expose them to the infection.

"Staff were assigned specific roles in the plan for the patient's care, and everyone knew what they had to do before she even arrived at the hospital. No time was wasted; she was examined immediately on arrival. It turned out the fetus was in distress, and he had to be delivered immediately via caesarean section," she said.

Although the mother was Covid-19 positive, doctors, nurses and staff at the hospital did not hesitate to do their best for her and her baby.

The operation was carried out with full Covid-19 precautions in place, and all safety precautions were taken to protect the hospital team and other patients from exposure to the virus.

The baby needed support in his early days and was admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) under the care of Dr Deepu Abraham, Consultant Neonatology and Paediatric, and his team. The baby was later released in good health.

"Me and my baby were blessed to receive the care we needed from a competent team of doctors, nurses and hospital staff who did their utmost to take care of us in our critical situation," said Fariya.

"I did not feel any discrimination or substandard treatment for being Covid-19 positive. Instead, the hospital team did not hesitate to take all the necessary steps to take care of us, particularly that my case was time-critical."

• Dubai