New Delhi:With the pandemic taking a toll on mental and physical health, millions of expectant mothers are facing the most difficult times as the country reels under an acute shortage of beds, hospitals, oxygen and other medical aid.
More particularly, with the lockdown in place, pregnant women have to overcome challenges as they are failing to get treatment and other healthcare facilities at the right time. The several lockdowns adopted by countries were shown to have a detrimental effect on women’s sexual and reproductive health. Many are delaying pregnancy out of fear of COVID-19 impact.
Therefore, the National Commission for women has come to rescue these helpless expectant mothers who are in utmost need of care and health benefits.
Most recently, as informed by the NCW, a 29-year-old pregnant woman from the state of Bengaluru urgently needed a ventilator bed as the hospital ran out of an ICU and a ventilator facility.
However, the request was sent to NCW's helpline for expecting mothers at midnight by a volunteer group. The team working at night immediately took up the case and actively worked on it as the patient was highly critical and there was no time to waste.
“Every authority from the District Health Officer to the Police Commissioner was contacted for arranging the ventilator. Even the highest of the NCW officials were involved. The team also contacted the Health Minister's office for help. Finally, after a night-long battle, a ventilator was arranged for the patient and she was shifted to an ICU”, the commission said.
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So far, the National Commission of Women has received a total of 720 cases of pregnant women seeking help at this hour of crisis.
NCW chairperson, Rekha Sharma told ETV Bharat that in the past month, the commission came across several stories of pregnant women who were struggling to reach hospitals and the plight of their relatives running from pillar to post to arrange for medical aid.
"With the pandemic raging, NCW wanted to answer a question, how can pregnant women be assisted in these hard times and how can the Commission play a positive role in the process? This is when we decided to launch a helpline exclusively for assisting pregnant women during emergencies”, she said.
“Ever since the launch of the helpline on April 29, Team NCW has been at the forefront of the COVID-19 fight with the team members working round-the-clock helping patients with the arrangement of tests, treatments, oxygen support, hospitalisation, and teleconsultation services”, added Sharma.
A helpline that was founded as a rapid response to an increasing emergency today hosts a network of people who are working like a well-oiled machine ready round the clock to attend to every request. “The commission consists of a group of 40 people who are working together to manage different requests received on the helpline including arranging oxygen cylinders, hospital beds, plasma, and delivering medicines to the patients”, the chairperson told ETV Bharat.
Chairperson Rekha Sharma said the commission is constantly trying to deliver the best and it would be a grave injustice not to mention the administrative and medical authorities of the state and the concerned districts who are readily helping the commission with every request falling within their jurisdiction. “Our State Commissions for Women are also working with us shoulder to shoulder in making this helpline a success that it is today”, she reiterated.
Moreover, with the launching of the helpline, NCW is joined by people from all walks of lives including social workers, doctors, influencers, celebrities who are helping in amplifying the reach.
Keeping in mind the problem faced by the women in availing consultation with their doctors with lockdown imposed in several states, the commission has decided to make doctors a part of their initiative. NCW called for doctors to come forward and volunteer for the cause and at present we there are over 20 doctors who provide teleconsultation services to women free of cost.
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The healthcare professionals hail from different parts of the country so that the patients can clarify their queries in their language.
Also with the surge in covid cases, the demand for plasma was skyrocketing, therefore, in its initial days, the NCW helpline received several requests for plasma after which they called for people who have recovered from the virus to come forward and donate plasma. People responded very positively to NCW’s call to save two lives by donating plasma for pregnant women and currently the helpline has plasma donors from across the country.
Presently, the commission is receiving requests for help from all across the country including Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh.
