The COVID-19 pandemic drain on health systems has left few resources for anything else.
As a result, World Health Organization Director General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Friday, women may face a “heightened risk of dying from complications of pregnancy and childbirth.”
Dr. Natalia Kanem, executive director of the U.N. Population Fund, said: “Even before the emergence of COVID-19, for millions of women timely high-quality maternal health care was unavailable, it was inaccessible, or it was not affordable. And now, with the pandemic, we’re seeing exacerbation of already limited access to care, putting women’s health and lives at risk.”
The agency is encouraging new mothers, however, to nurse their babies. “So far, we have not been able to detect live virus in breast milk,” said Dr. Anshu Banerjee, director for WHO’S Department of Maternal, Newborn and Child and Adolescent Health and Ageing.
India reported its largest surge in new COVID-19 cases in a 24-hour period Saturday. The 11,458 new infections surpassed the previous record of 10,956 cases reported Friday.
The surge comes as India has reopened stores, shopping malls, manufacturing plants and places of worship. The country’s two-month lockdown that began in March has been eased, with restrictions remaining largely intact in high-risk areas.
As a result, World Health Organization Director General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Friday, women may face a “heightened risk of dying from complications of pregnancy and childbirth.”
Dr. Natalia Kanem, executive director of the U.N. Population Fund, said: “Even before the emergence of COVID-19, for millions of women timely high-quality maternal health care was unavailable, it was inaccessible, or it was not affordable. And now, with the pandemic, we’re seeing exacerbation of already limited access to care, putting women’s health and lives at risk.”
The agency is encouraging new mothers, however, to nurse their babies. “So far, we have not been able to detect live virus in breast milk,” said Dr. Anshu Banerjee, director for WHO’S Department of Maternal, Newborn and Child and Adolescent Health and Ageing.
India reported its largest surge in new COVID-19 cases in a 24-hour period Saturday. The 11,458 new infections surpassed the previous record of 10,956 cases reported Friday.
The surge comes as India has reopened stores, shopping malls, manufacturing plants and places of worship. The country’s two-month lockdown that began in March has been eased, with restrictions remaining largely intact in high-risk areas.