Prenatal Invasive Procedures during the Peak of COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The current Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has had an immense adverse effect on provision of routine healthcare services including maternity care. Prenatal invasive procedures are amongst the most affected due to their availability at limited centres, reallocation of health resources, restricted mobility of individuals and the perceived ‘semi-elective’ nature of these procedures. However, these are essential procedures, even life-saving in cases of fetal anaemia, and time-sensitive especially considering the upper limit of legal age of medical termination of pregnancy in India. Data on COVID-19 is currently limited and the risk of vertical transmission is unknown. We present our experience of prenatal invasive procedure during April 2020 and May 2021, the peak months of COVID-19 and stringent lockdown.

Keywords

• coronavirus
• high-risk pregnancy
• prenatal diagnosis