THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:
For Reena Thomson it was a risky journey to fly home all the way from the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh to Kozhikode as she was in an advanced stage of pregnancy.
Thanks to the doctors and health care workers who took care of her, within hours of reaching her home town Chittur in Palakkad, Reena gave birth to a baby boy, proving her decision a well taken one. Reena, who was working as a staff nurse in a hospital in Riyadh, landed at Karipur International Airport at 10.30 pm on Friday by a flight that carried NRKs under the Vande Bhart, the airlifting project launched by Government of India to bring home NRIs from different countries, in the wake of COVID-19 outbreak.
Since her husband is in Kerala, she was unaccompanied by any relative. From the airport the first time pregnant woman had an arduous journey by road before she reached home in Chittur by 3 in the morning. As per the SOP set for returnees, her swab was immediately taken and sent to the Government Medical College Hospital for COVD-19 testing.
As she started symptoms of labour within two hours of reaching home, Reena was rushed to the Government Women and Children Hospital in Palakkad, where she underwent a Lower Segment Caesarean Section (LSCS), as she had no labour pain in progress. The baby, weighing 2.9 Kg, and the mother are doing fine. Reena, whose Estimated Date of Confinement was May 22, was attended by Dr Sindhu, Gynaecologist, Anaesthetist Dr Prashanth Nair and other staff on duty at the hospital.
“We are glad that the mother and the baby are doing well. We decided on LSCS, which is the most commonly used type of Caesarean section , as this type of incision results in least blood loss, and was the best option in this case,” Dr Sindhu said.
Reena is wife of Thomson of Anathazhath house, Ambattupalayalm, Chittur.
