{"id":10794,"date":"2020-04-24T14:51:23","date_gmt":"2020-04-24T14:51:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/watchdogplusmedia.com\/?p=10794"},"modified":"2020-04-24T14:51:28","modified_gmt":"2020-04-24T14:51:28","slug":"covid-19-ncdc-dg-ihekweazu-issues-directives-to-pregnant-breastfeeding-women","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/watchdogplusmedia.com\/?p=10794","title":{"rendered":"COVID-19: NCDC DG, Ihekweazu issues directives to pregnant, breastfeeding women"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/dailypost.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/9cd1c7de-chikwe-ihekweazu-1.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has advised pregnant and breastfeeding women to take routine preventive actions to avoid the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) infection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, Director General of NCDC, gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Abuja.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ihekweazu said that the preventive measures were recommended in alignment with the Department of Family Health, Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He listed the measures to include diligent hand-washing, avoiding close contact with people exhibiting symptoms of infection, covering sneezes and coughings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He said that it was not currently known if pregnant women were more susceptible to COVID-19 than the general public nor whether they were more likely to have serious illness as a result.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBased on available information, pregnant women seem to be at equal risk as other adults.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cHowever, it is known that the bodily changes that occur during pregnancy may put expectant women at increased risk for some infections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cPregnant women have had a higher risk of severe illness when infected with viruses from the same family as COVID-19 and other viral respiratory infections such as influenza.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cTherefore, pregnant women should take the same precautions as the general public to avoid COVID-19 infection,\u201d he advised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The NCDC boss advised pregnant women to frequently clean their hands using alcohol-based hand sanitizer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cClean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces on a daily basis. If possible, stay home for the entire duration of the pregnancy except for ante-natal care hospital visits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cEat healthy and nutritious meals. Ensure adequate bed rest. If you think you may have Coronavirus or have been exposed, stay at home for 14 days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cDo not go to the hospital but contact your doctor and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) toll-free number, 0800-9700 0010 or state epidemiologist immediately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cYou will be assessed in line with current case definition guidelines set out by the NCDC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cYou should contact your clinic to inform them that you have symptoms suggestive of Coronavirus, particularly if you have any routine appointments in the next seven days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThey should postpone routine antenatal visits until after the isolation period is over, and arrange the right place and time for you to come for your visits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cYou should not attend a routine clinic. There may be a need for them to reduce the number of ante-natal visits you have,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He said that breastfeeding women, should, along with their families and health care providers, decide whether and how to start or continue breast-feeding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ihekweazu said breast milk provided protection against many illnesses and was the best source of nutrition for infants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIn limited studies, COVID-19 has not been detected in breast milk; however, it is not known for sure whether mothers with COVID-19 can spread the virus via breast milk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIf you are suspected or confirmed to have COVID-19 infection and choose to breastfeed, maintain strict hygiene and wash your hands before each feed and wear a face mask,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Iheakweazu said that another good option was to pump or express by hand breast milk and have someone not sick to feed the baby.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIf they pump or hand express the milk, they should make sure they wash their hands before doing so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBe aware that media speculation is rife about COVID-19 and not everything you read in the newspapers or online or hear is accurate or verified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cTrusted and accurate information will always be released by the Ministry of Health or Nigeria Centre for Disease Control.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"facebook sharing button\" src=\"https:\/\/platform-cdn.sharethis.com\/img\/facebook.svg\">\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/platform-cdn.sharethis.com\/img\/print.svg\" alt=\"print sharing button\"\/><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has advised pregnant and breastfeeding women to take routine preventive actions to avoid the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) infection. Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, Director General of NCDC, gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Abuja. Ihekweazu said that the preventive measures [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_mi_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[27,6],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>COVID-19: NCDC DG, Ihekweazu issues directives to pregnant, breastfeeding women &raquo; WatchDog Plus Media<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/watchdogplusmedia.com\/?p=10794\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Odofin\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/watchdogplusmedia.com\/?p=10794#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/watchdogplusmedia.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"COVID-19\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/watchdogplusmedia.com\/?cat=27\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"COVID-19: NCDC DG, Ihekweazu issues directives to pregnant, breastfeeding women\"}]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"COVID-19: NCDC DG, Ihekweazu issues directives to pregnant, breastfeeding women &raquo; WatchDog Plus Media","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/watchdogplusmedia.com\/?p=10794","author":"Odofin","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/watchdogplusmedia.com\/?p=10794#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/watchdogplusmedia.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"COVID-19","item":"https:\/\/watchdogplusmedia.com\/?cat=27"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"COVID-19: NCDC DG, Ihekweazu issues directives to pregnant, breastfeeding women"}]}]}},"rttpg_featured_image_url":null,"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"Odofin","author_link":"https:\/\/watchdogplusmedia.com\/?author=2"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"<a href=\"https:\/\/watchdogplusmedia.com\/?cat=27\" rel=\"category\">COVID-19<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/watchdogplusmedia.com\/?cat=6\" rel=\"category\">Health<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has advised pregnant and breastfeeding women to take routine preventive actions to avoid the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) infection. Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, Director General of NCDC, gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Abuja. Ihekweazu said that the preventive measures&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/watchdogplusmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10794"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/watchdogplusmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/watchdogplusmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/watchdogplusmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/watchdogplusmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10794"}],"version-history":[{"count":-4,"href":"https:\/\/watchdogplusmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10794\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/watchdogplusmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10794"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/watchdogplusmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10794"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/watchdogplusmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10794"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}