Like never before, pregnant women and parents of children 0-1 years of age are anxious. While Unlock 1.0 has started, the risk of infection at the hospital, and the availability of beds are major concerns. Our interactions with 1000+ pregnant women, 30+ doctors, and 10+ hospitals to manage these situations have offered valuable learnings, which we would like to share.
“How will Coronavirus affect me?” or “Hospital is not safe, shall I deliver at home?” – we are resolving about 100 such queries every week, over the last two months. Most of these queries relate to the mother’s and baby’s safety at the facility, not-to-miss tests, medicines, and myths around COVID-19.
From these interactions, our biggest takeaway is: ‘New Normal’ is going to require a hybrid nature of care i.e. essential visits at the clinic, routine care at home, and online engagement beyond the facility.
Are we ready for it? Here is a way ahead:
Some initiatives by hospitals and doctors during lockdown using CareMother technology:
- Medipoint Hospital in Pune used CareMother’s wireless and portable fetal monitoring solution for home monitoring and 15+ doctors associated with the facility could remotely monitor their patients.
- Gynecologists and counselors are getting online for virtual consultations as well as counseling sessions. CareMother started the “Don’t Panic – Protect” video series with Dr. Supriya Puranik which was viewed by 1.1 million people.
- CareMother along with some key hospitals started home care and WhatsApp group management in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Delhi, and Chandigarh.
- NGOs and the Government delivered 1200+ teleconsultation for high-risk pregnant women. CareMother platform helped them to identify the list of mothers at high risk and due for immunization.
So do our practice and infrastructure allow us to achieve it? In the new normal how can we bring these examples together and offer complete care to expecting mothers?
