COVID cases among pregnant women spike

By Dolly Yasa

BACOLOD City – The Bacolod Emergency Operations Center has noted an increase in COVID-19 cases among pregnant and postpartum women.

City Administrator and EOC Executive director Em Ang said that in the last 2 weeks alone, five COVID-positive women gave birth at isolation facilities, four inside ambulances, two patients at their homes and one outside a clinic.

At present, there are 30 COVID patients in their last trimester of pregnancy who are in the isolation facility, she said.

Taking this into consideration the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) Task Force met with Department of Health (DOH-6) Family Planning and Safe Motherhood Program Coordinator Dr. Mary Ann Matillano, CLMMRH OB-Gyne Dept Head Dr. Irene Cosculluela, DOH Development Management Officer Ben Arnel De la Cruz, Well Family Maternity Clinics Association head Aleth Vingno and CHO Lying-In Clinic doctors to explore public-private partnership in the management of pregnant COVID-19 patients.

Attending the virtual meeting are CHO OIC Dr. Edwin Miraflor, City Administrator Em Ang, Dr. Anna Maria Laarni Pornan and EA Tere Manalili.

Earlier, Councilor Cindy Rojas reported to the EOC that a pregnant woman who was in quarantine at ETCS4 gave birth to a baby boy Monday while awaiting her swab results.

Rojas said three of her staff assigned to the ETCS4 quarantine facility helped the woman give birth.

She described the incident as miraculous because her three staff have no medical training, but they managed to help deliver a baby boy.

“God certainly worked wonders in guiding the hands of these three women to be instrumental in helping the mother,” Rojas said.

Rojas said both mother and baby are confined to Riverside Medical Center.