Katie Hanafin
BSc, MSc, ANNP, Danat al Emarat Hospital, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Title: Covid – 19 and the care of the neonate
Biography
Biography: Katie Hanafin
Abstract
Background: Covid-19 has caused a ripple effect of changes across all areas of healthcare, including care of Neonates. Initial thoughts were that vertical transmission was not possible but this is now in question. Neonates are a high risk population, for that reason extreme care must be taken to protect this vulnerable group of the population, whilst also provided family centered care within new, strict visiting regimes and rules.
Objective: Highlight of the main issues surrounding neonates and covid-19.
Discuss the likelihood of vertical transmission.
Discuss the effect of Covid-19 on parents.
Results: Case reports from Fenizia, Zamaniyan et al, Kirtsman et al, and Sisman et al, all suggest there is a risk of vertical transmission, although the percentage of cases seen are minimal. Those babies found to be positive were often asymptomatic or minimally affected by the virus.
There has been a big change within hospitals regarding management of patients and patient/staff ratios for suspected/confirmed patients. This has had a multifactorial negative effect including tired, overworked staff, cuts in salaries for some due to the hospitals extra expenditure during the pandemic, staff being asked to work on wards they are unfamiliar with, and reduction in bed capacity for patients not affected by Covid-19.
Strict visiting regulations and home lockdown has affected parental bonding and increased the risk of mental health problems. A study of 900 pregnant and postpartum women in Canada (Davenport et al 2020), has shown that before the pandemic began, 29 per cent of those women experienced moderate to high anxiety symptoms, and 15 per cent experienced depressive symptoms. During the pandemic, these numbers have increased with 72 per cent experiencing anxiety and 41 per cent dealing with depression, the study noted.
Conclusion: The lives of staff and patients changed dramatically during the pandemic. Within the UAE we are now starting to come through the other side with many hospitals now Covid-19 free, DAE being one of them. Moving forward, can we relax with the strictness of our PPE? We should definitely begin to relax on visiting to ensure parents can get that necessary bonding time with their babies.