Srinagar, May 28 (KNO): With the increase in number of positive pregnant women in Kashmir from rural areas, the medical experts Thursday said it's due to the lack of education, awareness and unavailability of advent technologies including news and social media that exposes expecting mothers in rural villages to deadly virus.
The medical experts believe that the women in urban areas take extra precautions and are well aware about the possible contraction of virus while the pregnant women from rural area don't even seek information and have no advent technology available with them to learn about this pandemic.
Taking to News agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), Valley's renowned flue expert, Dr Nisar Ul Hassan, who is also Associate Professor Medicine at GMC, Srinagar, said the lack of awareness, knowledge and information is one of the important factor including defying the necessary protocols to keep away the virus has engulfed number of rural pregnant women so far.
He said the possible increase in the number of positive cases is possibly due to the less awareness, education and they don't take enough precautions to keep away the virus because the sanitation is lesser.
“They don't maintain the personal hygiene like, hand washing, going out anytime in in the fields, orchards there they mix up with the people they don't put on protective gears and no maintenance of social distancing,” he said.
He said there are already recommendations that one should stay away from the people but they mix-up with the number of people at home as well which also is one of the important factor that exposes them to the virus.
Dr Nisar said most of the rural pregnant women are illiterate and are not in touch with technology like, news and social media, as far the culture women are mostly busy with the household chores and don't seek information related to anything which mounts the chances due to the lack of information about the precautionary measures.
“Initially, there was some fear among the people, but with the time, it vanished now as people come out of their homes and spend hours with agricultural activities.
Even the pregnant women indulge in the same among which most of them proved positive since there are no necessary precautionary measure followed in spirit,” Dr Nisar said. “In urban areas people ensure all the safety and precautions measures are taken to be sure about the health of the mother and the unborn child.”
He said as of now there is no study about the prevalence of virus among pregnant ladies in rural areas. “We need to undertake a proper study and analyze the cases. There must be something with their biology including the environmental conditions and other factors as well,” the doctor said.
As per the official data, over 50 women across the Kashmir division have turned positive for novel coronavirus of which the maximum number belongs to northern and southern belt of Kashmir especially form the remote areas.
Government has made testing mandatory for all pregnant ladies a large number of them have proved positive which is alarming for all the expecting mothers—(KNO)