Pregnant woman infected with coronavirus gives birth in Banke

RUPANDEHI: A pregnant woman who was found infected with coronavirus in Butwal and referred to Nepalgunj Medical College in Kohalpur underwent a surgery to give birth to a baby today.

The 28-year-old woman from Butwal Sub-metropolis-11 was earlier denied admission by Lumbini Provincial Hospital after she was diagnosed with coronavirus. She was then taken to Banke for treatment.

A baby girl was born at 9:30 am. The newborn weighed two kilograms and her health condition is normal, according to Dinesh Shrestha, deputy director at the medical college.

"The health condition of both mother and newborn is normal. Test on the baby girl would be conducted to ascertain whether she has been infected. It is the fourth operation conducted on a Covid-19 infected woman at the medical college," he added.

After the Butwal-based hospital denied service because the woman was Covid-19 positive, Province 5 Minister for Social Development was made aware of the situation. Rights activists pressed the minister to take initiative to immediately provide health service to the pregnant woman.