For the first time in the history of Kasturba Hospital has a caesarean section been performed in an isolated sick ward of the hospital. An eight-months-pregnant mother who fell prey to swine flu died a day after her baby boy was born by an emergency Caesarean section performed in the swine flu ward of Kasturba Hospital.
Sonali (name changed), a 26-year-old woman from Borgaon Meghe, a village in Wardha district, was admitted to the Kasturba hospital for sore throat, cough and fever. She soon became breathless and was barely able to get out of the bed. Suspected to have swine flu, she was started on anti-swine flu treatment and her throat samples were sent to the regional laboratory. She tested positive for swine flu and was kept in an isolated Swine-flu ward located in the Medicine department building of the hospital.
When her condition ceased to get any better, a team of doctors (gynecologists, anesthesiologists, pediatricians and physicians) battled together to save mother and child against all odds. Because the patient’s condition didn’t permit them to move her to the operation theatre, they decided to perform Caesarean section in the swine flu ward itself.
The baby boy was delivered on March 12, 2015, but tragically his mother could not be saved. She died of the illness the very next day. The health care workers of the hospital are caring for the baby, tracking his vital signs, carefully monitoring his progress and have started him on swine flu treatment immediately after the baby was born. The baby was subsequently found to have tested negative for swine flu.
The hospital management congratulated the team for taking a timely decision that saved the child and for pulling him away from his death bed. Dr Poonam Shivkumar, Head of Department of Gynecology expressed her grief for the dead mother and wished the patient had been brought earlier to the hospital.