Page 44 - Retail Pharmacy Assistants - October 2020

42 PRE AND POSTNATAL FROM PAGE 40 Deciding on mode of delivery Pregnancy is a time for decisions: baby names, nursery colours and, of course, mode of delivery. Thankfully, while Covid-19 has taken away a lot of our freedoms, when it comes to pregnancy, according to Dr Moffrey “there’s no indication as to changes in delivery mode”. “Even if the mother has Covid-19, they can still choose their mode of delivery,” he said. “\\\[In fact\\\], there’s no better mode of delivery \\\[even\\\] if she’s infected with Covid-19, so that’s totally the mother’s choice.” Dr Moffrey adds that if the mother doesn’t have Covid-19 “there’s not too much difference to normal”. “In certain states, they’re limiting the use of certain things like shower and baths, especially in hotspots like Victoria at the moment, because there are some questions about whether the humidity created in the environment of a bath and the aerosol of the virus are increasing the risk to healthcare workers,” he said. “So, that’s one thing that’s changed, but thankfully not here, in Queensland.” Both doctors agree that the major change during and after birth is “the environment in terms of visitation”. “So, patients are only allowed one birth support person, and obviously, often that’s the partner, but if the partner can’t be there, it’s one other person,” Dr Moffrey said. “Unfortunately, no one else besides that is allowed and no other visitation while in the hospital. So, it’s a little bit isolating for some mums, especially if they’ve got other children at home – their other children can’t come to see them while they’re in hospital.” Agreeing with Dr Moffrey, Dr Jacobson adds that two other changes being implemented around the time of the birth are “early discharge from hospital” and, as expected, “seeking testing and treatment” if mum or baby are unwell. The IVF consideration For a lot of women who may have trouble conceiving naturally, IVF has been one of the go-to ways of achieving the family dream. However, as with other elective surgeries and procedures, the possibility of IVF taking place during the Covid-19 pandemic – especially when the virus first took hold – was under threat. Dr Jacobson says that due to the “many unknowns regarding Covid-19 and its long-term effects, it’s important for women considering IVF to take Covid-19 into account in their decision making” but “in general, with the information that we have now about Covid-19, for most women it would be TO PAGE 44 “Even if the mother has Covid-19, they can still choose their mode of delivery, There’s no better mode of delivery \\\[even\\\] if she’s infected with Covid-19.” RETAIL PHARMACY ASSISTANTS • OCT 2020