In the gloomy times, when people are hardly helping even their loved ones, a heart-warming gesture of the nurse has given us a reason to celebrate humanity.
As per TOI, this Coronawarrior set a great example when she breastfed a newborn after the baby’s mother couldn’t.
Based on the reports, on Thursday, this new mom was on her night duty at the labour post-operative ward (LPOW) of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. It was then she heard the few-hours-old baby crying out for milk.
But, she couldn’t bear the pain of his cries. The baby’s mother, who had undergone a C-section, could not feed her herself as she was yet to start lactating.
As per the generic principle, when a mother can’t feed her child, other new moms in the maternity ward pitch in to feed the newborn. Though the ward had eight new moms, none of them was ready to feed the newborn because of fear of COVID-19 infection.
Here’s when this nurse stepped up. While sharing the details, she mentioned to TOI:
“It was a hectic night, and the baby was crying out of hunger. I could not keep myself away from the child. So, I decided to breastfeed her myself.”
While Breastfeeding The New Born, Nurse Followed Hygiene Protocol
When the nurse began feeding the newborn girl, the nurse got a call from her home.
Being occupied with breastfeeding, the nurse declined the call with a text message. She wrote that she was breastfeeding a hungry baby girl. This text got her husband apprehensive about their son’s safety. The nurse assured him that she was adhering to the hygiene protocol.
“Husband was a bit worried, as I would be breastfeeding our son the next morning. But I assured him that I was following all hygiene protocol.”
In fact, she even took the selfie to ensure him.
Tulika Jha, associate professor of gynecology and obstetrics at the hospital, says while wet-nursing is not uncommon, she has never seen an on-duty nurse do it. Applauding this nurse’s heart-warming gesture, she mentioned
“Kudos to the young nurse, whose maternal instinct came to came to the hungry newborn’s rescue.”
The other new mothers, who refused to breastfeed the baby, were not scared without any reason. At least 30 pregnant women have tested positive for COVID-19 infection across various hospitals in the city. But as per the doctors, even if a mother or the newborn, or both were COVID-19 +ve, the baby could still be breastfed after taking all hygienic precautions like wearing a mask.
How Society Harassed Her & Family
While many are applauding her humane gesture, it is heartbreaking to know how locals harassed this nurse for fighting a battle against Coronavirus. The locals objected to her daily commute – from her house to hospital and vice versa.
Though she had the option to stay at the hospital, she herself had a newborn, who needed to be breastfed. She had to seek the help of the local police station and produce a doctor’s certificate.
While remembering the heartbreaking incident, she mentioned:
“Apart from me, my elderly mother, husband, and my son had to undergo thermal screening to prove to the locals that none of us had symptoms.”
The photo of this nurse breastfeeding the baby has been shared by some RG Kar doctors. Kingshuk Karmakar of the West Bengal Medical Students Cell said:
“Despite harassment of healthcare workers from some sections of the society, what this nurse has done is laudable. This was not part of her duty.”