Pregnant and lactating women have had it tough in the pandemic.

While on the one side the risk of them experiencing severe COVID symptoms has been studied, on the other hand, they were denied vaccines for a long time.

But the go-ahead is only the first step in a winding road.

Pregnant and lactating women are still at a risk of contracting COVID due to many other barriers like lack of access to vaccines, hesitancy, the threat of more dangerous variants and breakthrough infections.

So, what must a pregnant or new mother who has tested COVID positive know about ensuring her baby's safety?

FIT speaks to Dr Sunita Varma, Director, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Fortis Hospital Shalimar Bagh.

The first think to do incase you start experiencing COVID like symptoms is to get tested to confirm the illness.

In a press statement released by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), Dr Manju Puri, Head, Department, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Lady Hardinge Medical College, also gave some other guidelines for COVID positive pregnant people.

• Isolate yourself.

• Drink plenty of fluids.

• Check your temperature and oxygen saturation every 4-6 hrs.

• If you have persistent fever that does not come down even after taking paracetamol, Dr Puri recommends contacting a doctor.

• If there is a drop in oxygen concentration or if there is a decreasing trend for example if it is, say, 98 in the morning, 97 in the evening, and then drops further the next day, she advices alerting your doctor.

Moreover, women with other comorbidities such as diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, obesity, etc, need to be more careful, as they may need hospitalisation.

She further goes on to recommend a full body check-up post-Covid recovery to ensure that the mother and the foetus are doing fine.

When a mother is COVID positive while she is pregnant, the chances of her infecting the baby while still in the womb is slim, says Dr Sunita Varma, Director, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Fortis Hospital Shalimar Bagh.

"This is called vertical transmission," she explains. "Wherein the virus travels through the placenta into the baby."

Dr Puri adds that in these few cases, "we are not sure whether those babies got the infection inside the mother’s womb or soon after the birth."

"If the mother is handling the baby with full COVID appropriate precautions, the chances of transmission are extremely low," says Dr Varma.

Yes, say the experts.

The World Health Organization (WHO) encourages COVID suspected and COVID positive mothers to breastfeed their babies.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of India too reccomends this.

However, before handling the baby it is important to wash your hands thoroughly.

Dr Varma also adds that the mother should "wear protective masks and face shields at all times while breastfeeding the baby."

"If there is no one else to take care of the child, a mother should wear a mask all the time, and maintain physical distance from the child as much as possible," reccomends Dr Puri.

It is also important to ensure the room that the mother and child are staying in is well ventilated.

Ensure you sanitise your surroundingly frequently.

"Vaccinated mothers develop protective antibodies," explains Dr Varma. "These are passed on to the baby not only during pregnancy but also while breastfeeding."

Which means not only does being unvaccinated pose added threat to pregnant women, but being vaccinated presents an added benefit of protecting the child.

This is the reason experts have been lobbying for and encouraging vaccination of pregnant and lactating women.

In the MoHFW statement, Dr Puri explains how other vaccines for viral infections like Hepatitis B and influenza are given during pregnancy to protect the unborn child.

She reiterates that the COVID vaccine though new in itself is based on tried and tested technology.

"The benefits of taking the vaccine far outweigh the risks," adds Dr Varma.