WHEN the second wave Covid strikes Campania, Villa Betania is, like other structures, managing the emergency of women in childbearing positive for the virus. The number increases, the system goes into trouble. The Evangelical hospital of Ponticelli – second in Campania for births (2,050 newborns in 2020) – sets up a special ward: «From October to early December we have assisted 52 Covid positive women in childbirth. And the newborns have never been separated from their mothers ”, says Marcello Napolitano, head of the maternal-infant department and director of the complex operational unit of neonatal intensive care and neonatology.
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A protocol of excellence, in some respects unique in Campania: “After the first phase of the pandemic with zero cases, in the second there was a sudden increase – continues Napolitano – we created an ad hoc department, with delivery room and nursery dedicated to a floor contiguous to that of the department “. It is an important insight: “This made it possible to carry out the 52 assistances in full compliance with national and international guidelines. The mothers were with the newborns in the rooms, they continued to breastfeed them. The guidelines advise precisely never to interrupt this contact . If the two poles had been far apart, this would not have been possible “.
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Only one case raised concerns: “Transmission of the virus can occur via the placenta, but it is very rare. We had only one Covid positive newborn for 25 days, after four consecutive swabs, with mild respiratory symptoms”. Villa Betania has distinguished the wards for ordinary pregnancies and for positive women in childbirth. Doctors and nurses were dressed in overalls and masks: “Everything was done with the same staff who worked simultaneously and with many overtime – continues Napolitano – it was a complicated organization. The hospital made many resources available”.
The situation has now returned, despite the third wave of the virus. From December to today, Villa Betania has four positive women in labor: “With these numbers there is no longer a dedicated ward, but ready to return in case of need. Naturally, the protocol with tampons, isolation in case of positivity or transfer remains. at the Polyclinic. The results are also processed in two hours in our laboratories: this allows us to act promptly in the most urgent cases “.
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And the mothers with the little ones? “The assistance also continues at home. Mothers continue to breastfeed with masks and other precautions. There has been no acquired infection from mother-infant contact. This bond must be fostered in any way.”
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