Pregnancy and childbirth are important phases of a woman’s life where she requires care, support, and maximum attention to her health. At Sakra, we have a team of highly experienced doctors to ensure the well-being of the mother and the little one in every way. Our services include several aspects of pregnancy and childbirth, including Natural childbirth, Painless labour, Instrumental deliveries, Caesarean section, High-risk pregnancy care and delivery, and Fetal Medicine.

Natural childbirth

Natural childbirth is a way of giving birth to a child where the mother selects not to use drugs in order to speed up the labor or decrease pain.    

Pain relief during labor 

During labor, pregnant women are offered inhalation of gas - Entonox (mixture of N2O and oxygen in a 1:1 ratio) or an epidural analgesia in the epidural space near the spinal cord. This is an advanced pain management technique used during delivery that reduces the pain perception by almost 85%.

Instrumental deliveries

During delivery when the baby needs aid to be born, an instrument is attached to the head of the baby to assist in delivery. It is also known as assisted birth or operative vaginal birth. The instruments used for assisting birth are forceps and ventouse.

The forcep has a handle at one end, and the other end has two curves which cradle the baby's head. The ventouse has a cup (made of silicone plastic) to be attached to the baby’s head, and a handle to pull on is attached to the suction device to create a vacuum. 

Caesarean section

Caesarean section is a surgery carried out under epidural/spinal anaesthesia where the baby is delivered by making an incision on the woman's abdomen and uterus. This can be planned or an emergency procedure.  The emergency procedures can be related to the condition of the mother or baby, or labour as a dynamic process. 

It normally takes 30 to 45 minutes. C-section is comparatively safer for mother and baby. However, it is major surgery and carries risks. It also takes longer time to recover from a C-section than from vaginal birth. After healing, the incision might leave a scar in the wall of the uterus. This could cause problems with an endeavored vaginal birth later. However, in more than half of the women who have had a C-section can give vaginal birth later.

High-risk pregnancy care and delivery

Frequently, a pregnancy is categorized as high risk because of the problems that arise from the pregnancy itself, and which have little to do with the mother's health, or because of the pre-existing medical conditions of the mother. A high-risk pregnancy may pose challenges before, during, or after delivery. If a woman has a high-risk pregnancy, she and her baby may need special care throughout her pregnancy. This includes:

• Advanced maternal age
• Premature labor
• Multiple pregnancies
• Medical conditions 
• Pregnancy complications
• Fetal problems
• Chronic conditions
• Placenta previa

This high-risk pregnancy can be treated by a trained and expert obstetrician who can provide a safer delivery with an optimal outcome for the pregnant woman and her newborn.

Fetal Medicine    

Fetal medicine is a division of medicine that includes the evaluation of fetal growth and well-being, the upkeep of fetal health, and the diagnosis of fetal abnormalities and diseases. Nowadays, diagnosis for pregnant women has improved, which helps to detect problems of the fetus much before birth. Thus, the fetus is progressively becoming an independent individual, and fetal medicine is the specialty that addresses this “unborn patient”. Obstetricians, neonatologists,  maternal-fetal medicine specialists, pediatric surgical specialists, pediatric cardiologists, and geneticists are various specialists who are involved in fetal medicine. Fetal medicine is divided into two branches:

• Fetal treatment –  It is a therapy performed on an ill fetus with the aim of attaining fetal well-being through medical and surgical procedures.
• Prenatal diagnosis – In this division, the abnormal condition of the fetus is detected. Ultrasound is the most common test used for this diagnosis.

Fetal medicine helps detect and treat fetal abnormalities in the womb of the mother which helps in delivering a healthy baby.