Fear of pregnant women and children as COVID swallows Indonesia | Coronavirus Pandemic News

Medan, Indonesia – Satria Krisnaditya Permana was busy preparing for the birth of her first child when COVID-19 struck her family.

Satria and his 24-year-old wife, Saria Azalea Juliani, were 37 weeks pregnant and expected a baby girl, but were COVID-19 positive two weeks before Sally’s father was identified with the virus. ..

At first, everything looked fine.

The couple, who regularly spend time with Sari’s father, chose to quarantine at their home in Bekasi, a satellite city on the outskirts of Jakarta. I had everything I needed there.

But two days later, Sari had a high fever.

Satria said she “began to drift in and out of consciousness,” and the doctor told them that the baby was suffering. Sally was admitted to the Esnawan Antarixa Air Force Hospital in Jakarta.

“It was an absolute mess,” Satoria said. “There were people everywhere.”

Hospitals across Indonesia have been on the verge of collapse in recent weeks, with a vacation trip to Eid Alfitri in May and the arrival of a more aggressive delta variant.

Sally and Satria pose with light sticks to celebrate their common love for K-POP at their wedding on September 5, 2020 [Courtesy of Satria Krisnaditya Permana]

On Tuesday, more than 700 people died, while more than 30,000 new cases were reported. With more than 60,000 deaths in Indonesia, there is growing concern about the impact of the disease on pregnant women as well as infants.

Satria was relieved when her wife secured a room at the Air Force Hospital, but by June 30, her oxygen levels plummeted to 85%, and doctors determined she needed an emergency caesarean section. ..

To protect her from COVID-19, Sally’s daughter was taken away as soon as she was born and a small azalea permana was placed in the incubator.

Satria was still isolated at home, so he was unable to attend the birth. Two days later, shortly after Friday’s prayer, a devout Muslim received a call from the hospital.

“Keep praying, your wife is in crisis and is on a ventilator,” the nurse told him. Hours later, Sari was declared dead and was hurriedly buried in the Lorotan COVID-19 Cemetery in Jakarta according to the coronavirus protocol.

“My wife couldn’t even see her child properly,” Satoria said. “She couldn’t breastfeed as planned. It was a pain.”

But Satria didn’t even have time to mourn Sally’s death.

Baby Kirana suffered from complications at birth and had to be admitted to the neonatal ICU for further treatment. However, the NICUs in and around Jakarta were all full. After desperately trying hospitals in Jakarta and the surrounding cities, Satria’s parents finally found two hospitals, one in Bandung and one in Cirebon, to accept Kirana.

On July 2, Kirana was rushed to Bandung by ambulance. Bandung is a nearby hospital, but it was still a two-hour trip.

Tragically, she died the next morning.

The baby Kirana tested negative for the coronavirus, so the family was allowed to bury her in Bekasi near her family’s home.

“We worked hard to save our daughter, but it was probably too late,” Satoria said. “She lasted for three days in this cruel world. Now they are together in heaven.”

Many unknowns

According to data from the Indonesian Obstetrics and Gynecology Association (POGI), more than 500 pregnant women have been coronavirus-positive in Indonesia since the outbreak of the pandemic, and 4.5% require intensive care.

About 3 percent died as a result of the disease.

Baby Kirana was born by an emergency caesarean section and did not test positive for COVID, but died in the intensive care unit on July 3. [Courtesy of Satria Krisnaditya Permana ]

Dr. Wahiudigani, a gynecologist and obstetrician at Stella Maris Hospital in Medan, North Sumatra, says there are still many unclear points about how COVID-19 affects mothers and babies. ..

“Generally speaking, the coronavirus is less dangerous to pregnant mothers, but its effects on the foetation, both short-term and long-term, are not yet well understood,” he told Al Jazeera.

POGI’s current recommendation is that the coronavirus vaccine is safe for women over 12 weeks of gestation, but according to Dr. Wahyudi, the government has not yet mass-vaccinated pregnant women.

As a result, Sally was not vaccinated with COVID-19 and no 42-year-old Romanita died in Medan on June 27.

Rohmanita and her husband Ricky Hidayat have been looking for a baby for five years, and Rohmanita was 38 weeks pregnant with the couple’s first child when she began to feel sick.

“She got sick on June 24 and tested positive for the coronavirus two days later. She died the next day at sunset,” Ricky told Al Jazeera.

“It was very fast. We were isolated at home because she was pregnant. We didn’t want to go to the hospital because her due date was 10 days ahead. Before she died. I took care of her for four days. “

Ricky Hidayat sees Romanita’s burial from a cliff above the Simalinker B Cemetery in Medan. [Aisyah Llewellyn/AL Jazeera]

Romanita was buried with the foetation according to the COVID-19 protocol while her husband was looking from a distance [Aisyah Llewellyn/AL Jazeera]

Housewife Romanita was buried with her foetation in Medan’s special COVID-19 cemetery according to the coronavirus protocol. Health rules meant that Ricky couldn’t go to the graveyard. Instead, when the casket was lowered to the ground, he saw it from a cliff overlooking the burial ground.

According to Abdi, a grave digger, three or more babies, one day old, one month old, and three months old, are buried in the same graveyard.

“Since the start of the pandemic, our records show that 14 children have died of coronavirus in Medan, from less than a month to 15 years old,” said a pediatrician at the COVID-19 Task in North Sumatra. Dr. Inke Nadia DLubis told Al Jazira.

“Some of them didn’t have previous health conditions, and some had underlying health problems. Children under the age of one are also clearly at a much higher risk if infected with the virus. Will be exposed to. “

Higher risk

According to data from the Indonesian Pediatric Society (IDAI), infectious diseases in children across Indonesia are increasing at a higher rate than adults, probably because more children have been tested in recent months.

IDAI also showed that COVID-19 positive cases in children aged 0-18 years increased to 12.6% (or 1 in 8 infected) as of June 28, and infants in children aged 1 to 1 years. We found that the mortality rate was 0.6%. Dr. Cynthia Centauri, a pediatrician at Universitas Indonesia Hospital (RSUI) in Depot, a suburb of Jakarta, told Al Jazeera that 5% and 0.6% of children aged 6 to 18 years old.

Cases of COVID-19 in teens and children under the age of 18 continue to increase weekly.

From June 28th to July 4th, more than 11,000 children under the age of 18 were COVID-19 positive, compared to more than 7,000 last week, according to IDAI data.

Many babies, including 3 and 6 months old, are buried in Medan’s Shimalinker B Cemetery. [Aisyah Llewellyn/Al Jazeera]

“RSUI itself has increased the total number of inpatient and outpatient visits. The number of outpatient pediatric patients at the COVID-19 Polyclinic has at least doubled in recent weeks, with more severely ill patients than before. You can see it, “says Dr. Cynthia.

She added that the symptoms of coronavirus in children appear to be different from those in adults.

She said that children with coronavirus may not only exhibit respiratory symptoms such as cough, runny nose and shortness of breath, but also gastrointestinal symptoms such as vomiting and diarrhea, or body rashes.

Of the more than 2.3 million cases reported in Indonesia, more than 200,000 are associated with children under the age of 18, and 30% of these cases are associated with babies born during a pandemic. To date, more than 600 children have died from COVID-19 across Indonesia.

“We want to cry. Who’s dying? Indonesian kids. Unless it’s for our kids and grandchildren, our kids and grandchildren, we What are you living for? “Dr. Aman Prungan, head of IDAI, said on Monday.

At the end of June, IDAI issued a series of official recommendations on COVID-19 vaccines for children and teens, encouraging the government to accelerate its child vaccination program.

Currently, the Indonesian government has approved vaccination of children aged 12 to 17 and teens, but the decision to provide the COVID-19 vaccine to children aged 3 to 11 is still the result of further clinical research. Waiting for

“The provision of the COVID-19 vaccine for children should be welcomed,” said Dr. Cynthia. “We especially hope that parents will not hesitate to vaccinate their children. The recommendation of this vaccine will continue to expand the scope of COVID-19 vaccine immunity and COVID-19 for children throughout the archipelago. It is expected to reduce the infection rate, morbidity and mortality of the disease. “

Indonesia has approved a vaccine for children over 12 years old.Doctors urge parents to make sure their children are vaccinated due to a surge in cases [File: Made Nagi/EPA]

At Medan’s graveyard, Ricky told Al Jazeera that he also wanted people to start taking the pandemic more seriously. “People say there is no coronavirus, but there is a coronavirus. I saw it with my own eyes,” he said.

In Bekasi, Satria agreed.

“It’s clear to me that the government wasn’t ready for this second wave,” he said. “I hope you’ll notice more. This is very realistic. Some people think it’s all a conspiracy, but COVID-19 has also robbed me of my life and my daughter’s love.”

Satria, who sells computer parts to make a living, said her wife’s dream was to open her own little store one day.

“So now I’m chasing that dream for her. I still talk to her and tell her that she will be my eternal wife and that I’m proud of her.” He said. “She lasted as long as possible, and I know she and my daughter are both now smiling at me from heaven.”

“She would have been a very good mother.”