Snowfall in Kashmir: Doctors use WhatsApp to deliver a baby
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Srinagar: A remote area Keran in Jammu and Kashmir has been struggling with the snowfall and doctors resorted to using Whatsapp to deliver a baby.
A pregnant woman with a history of labour complications including eclampsia, prolonged labour, and episiotomy was stuck because the possibility of an airlift was ruled out due to snowfall. Block Medical Officer of Kralpora Dr Mir Mohammad Shafi said on Friday night, she went into labour at the Keran PHC.
Karen is cut off from the rest of the Kupwara district during the winter and air evacuation is the only way to take women to a hospital with maternity facilities. Continuous snowfall on Thursday and Friday prevented the authorities from arranging an air evacuation.
Staff at Keran PHC started looking for an alternative way of assistance and a gynaecologist in the Kralpora sub-district hospital, Dr Parvaiz, guided Dr Arshad Sofi and his paramedical staff at the Keran PHC over a WhatsApp call on the procedure to deliver the baby.
"The patient was induced (into labour) and after six hours a healthy baby girl was born. Currently, both the baby and the mother are under observation and doing fine," said Dr Shafi.