Dubai OBGYN explains Infertility Procedures during Covid-19

Dr Prgati is one of the most recommended OBGYN in Dubai. Her special interest is infertility treatments. We sat with her to hear what you need to know if you are considering infertility treatment in Dubai during Covid-19 crisis. In addition, general tips and recommendations for pregnant women concerned of Coronavirus are also discussed.

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Dr. Prgati Grover

Specialist Obs/Gynecologist
Prime Medical Center, Burjuman

Why are patients being told to forego IVFs & fertility treatments during the Covid period?

This is according to the American Society of Reproductive Medicines. They have come up with the latest guidelines on March 30^th 2020 that all non-urgent fertility procedures should be postponed in view of Coronavirus. This is because it’s best for the patients’ interest as fertility treatment requires multiple visits to the clinic for their work up, for their hormonal profile, and for their ovulation studies. And coming to & back to the clinic will expose them to the risk of coronavirus. They will be travelling in the same elevators, sitting in the waiting rooms with other patients, and therefore it’s not suggested at this point.

What about those patients who are already midway through their fertility treatments?

Unless they have strong medical reasons like somebody is getting some chemotherapy or radiotherapy for medical concerns, I think it’s best to postpone it for a while. It’s not like it’s putting a stop to it. It is just like taking a little break, a pause & then we can start it once the curbs start to flatten.

Due to the delay in fertility treatments how are couples dealing with it and do they have any alternatives?

For infertile patients even a week counts, month counts, and it’s a very stressful condition. Getting a treatment for infertility and on top of it with this new Coronavirus coming up, the stress level is already doubled up. But right now it is best to postpone the treatment. It is in the best of their interest because risk of getting Coronavirus outweighs all the benefits of getting fertility treatment at this point. So all elective procedures, all the non-urgent fertility treatments should be postponed.

I am pregnant now and need to do the Week 13 Genetic test. What should I do?

We are trying to decrease the number of the visits to the clinics. There are certain tests which are very important like dating scan exam. It’s just to find it out the cardiac activity of the fetus and 13 weeks’ scans specially if the woman’s age is above 35, it is very important to rule out down syndrome & other anomalies in that. So that is an important scan. But we try to schedule everything together like whatever the blood test is required, in 8 or 9 weeks or around 15 weeks their BPs, everything in one visit. We don’t call them multiple times. 13 week scan & anomaly scan are the two very important scan which they shouldn’t miss. But they should club it out with others. Other than that, we are promoting like they should be doing telemedicine & in case any concern is there, they should be calling us for minor aches and pains.

I am pregnant, and with Ramadan around the corner, will it be safe for me to fast given that the advice is to keep my mouth moist during COVID-19?

Till today, there is no proof that keeping a moist mouth will prevent you from getting a corona infection. It is an airborne disease, so you have to use all those precautions. And, whether they want to fast or not, that will be based upon their medical conditions. If she is not diabetic and healthy conditions, depending upon what trimester it is, we can guide them on that. Every pregnancy is different. If the lady is having a lot of nausea, vomiting and other medical concerns and the routine, then she has to avoid. There is no correlation between moist mouth and prevention of the corona.

Does becoming ill with corona increase my chance of miscarriage?

Right now there is no proof that there is increased risk. They have done number of studies because this is something very new and not much studies are available. But whatever literature and whatever experience we have, it is showing that there is not an increased risk of miscarriage.

What is the protocol for women infected with Covid-19 going into labor?

We are keeping them in labor and delivery unit only but in a separate room. So, routine airborne precautions are used. And they are allowed to deliver. Normally there is no contra-indication that the baby is given to the mother. And depending upon, she has to use all the airborne precautions, breastfeeding is recommended because it’s good for the baby. And the only thing is she has to use the general precautions of handwashing and all those airborne precautions using a mask and all. Otherwise, if she is like not fit enough to breastfeed and she is feeling sick and she wants to pump and give it to the baby, then she has to be very particular about the hygiene of that breast pump and it should be exclusively used. But as such, the baby is not separated from the mother. There is no transmission from the breast milk.

*Disclaimer: Please consider the information in this video/article most recent as per date and medical recommendations towards COVID-19 may change as the situation evolves.