Morbidly obese 32-year-old Covid positive woman delivers healthy baby in Bengaluru

At a time when obesity and pregnancy are considered high-risk for Covid-19 patients, a morbidly obese 32-year-old Covid positive woman delivered a healthy baby at a city hospital.

The Fraser Town resident, who weighed 110 kilograms, approached the hospital with multiple complications, besides comorbid conditions, triggering alarm among the medical staff.

Being in late-stage pregnancy, she was referred to Manipal Hospital, Whitefield, by a clinic after an RT-PCR test by the BBMP found her Covid positive. 

However, she only approached the hospital 48 hours later, after the onset of labour pain, doctors said.

Medical staff at the hospital added the patient’s arrival took them by surprise. “For one, we had not evaluated her before,” explained Dr Teji Dawane, a consulting obstetrician and gynecologist. 

Alarming history

In addition to her comorbidities such as obesity, the patient also had a history of several surgeries, including two previous Caesarean deliveries, the last of which was less than 11 months before.

Overtly, the patient’s symptoms were mild (a cold and a cough), but preliminary tests found that she had an abnormal heart rate (120 bpms) in addition to a reducing oxygen saturation level, which was down to 88%. “The patient’s glucose levels were also deranged,” Dr Dawane said.

At the same time, the patient was also said to be panicked over fears that Covid-19 had spread to the foetus. A Cesarean was done. Dr Dawane clarified that the baby tested negative for the disease.

Nevertheless, doctors said the child had to be separated from the mother during the period of hospitalisation to prevent the spread of infection.

“Newborn babies are especially vulnerable to Covid-19 because their immunity levels are low,” a doctor said.

“The Covid-19 outbreak has been especially kind to pregnant women and babies,” Dr Dawane added. “There have not been many complications among these two groups.”

One week in home isolation

The patient was discharged on the eighth day. This was followed by a mandatory stint of one week of home isolation.

“The baby was also discharged on the same day. The patient was instructed to feed the baby with the mother’s milk indirectly,” doctors said.