When expectant women should be filled with joy, a collective concern is rippling through them as the healthcare system grapples with disruptive changes amid the coronavirus crisis.
The idea of giving birth in the middle of a pandemic has added anxiety to an already stressful situation for them.
With the public transport system shut and hospital services scaled back, many of the expectant women are facing challenges to see doctors or undergo tests.
Fearing infection, many of them are not turning up for regular prenatal check-ups in hospitals.
The health ministry acknowledged that the pregnant women are facing trouble but said it is unethical on the part of hospitals not to attend to their needs.
The doctors, however, are focusing on telemedicine services instead of visiting patients in person.
Naznin Akhter Surobhi, a lecturer at the University Laboratory School and College who has conceived, said she has stopped going to a hospital in Dhanmondi for consultation.
She is visiting a hospital in Azmipur near his home now because she believes it is risky for her to travel to Dhanmondi.
“Things are getting worse. Now I’m worried if I can undergo the anomaly test due in 21-plus weeks,” Surobhi said, reports bdnews24.com.
She is now digging the internet for help.
“Sometimes you can’t explain your problem to the doctor over the phone. There should be online services for patients with the option of digital payments,” she added.
Surobhi is also worried about not being able to have a balanced diet due to the lockdown.
“I’m too scared to go to the hospital. What if I get infected with the coronavirus?” asked Lima Pritam, a pregnant woman living in Gendaria. She took one dose of the anti-tetanus vaccine and was due for the second dose.
As Old Dhaka is one of the most affected areas, she chose a hospital in Panthapath. Besides the transportation trouble, she is worried about consulting a new doctor. “I’m not sure if I can share all of my problems with a new doctor or get all the services from the doctor,” she said.
Sabina Islam, who is due for a C-section in about a week, cannot get admitted to hospital as she lives in a neighbourhood marked as a coronavirus hotspot.
“I have been in a little pain for the last two days. So, I went to the doctor to know about the plan for a C-section. But they simply refused to see me when they found out that I am from Wari. Now I have no clue where I should go at this stage,” she said.
Sonia Akhter Snigdha said she concealed the fact that she was living with her mother in Mirpur, another area with many COVID-19 patients, while delivering her second child recently.
“I had no other option. Should anyone be denied treatment if they live in a coronavirus hotspot?” she asked.
Doctors are providing service to their patients by telephone or on the internet, said Nilufer Sultana, chief of the gynaecology department at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
Expectant mothers should not visit doctors at their chambers now for their own good, she said.
“Private chambers are closed as it is hard to maintain physical distancing there. A doctor can’t stay six feet away from a patient during check-ups,” she said and suggested only patients with comorbidity to visit doctors in person.
Habibur Rahman, an additional health secretary, said they were aware of the situation
“We have had information that patients are being deprived of health services,” he said.
“We’ve asked the hospitals to provide treatment whenever a patient arrives. Those suspected to have coronavirus can be treated in isolation,” he said of the government hospitals.
“But it’s not possible to fully control the private hospitals.”
Habibur also said it is unethical for a doctor to deny a woman treatment in the middle of her pregnancy.