Bengaluru, More than 160 Covid free babies have been successfully delivered from coronavirus infected mothers in a city hospital, an official said on Saturday.

"We have successfully delivered more than 160 babies without coronavirus though they were born to Covid positive women," a medical official at Vani Vilas Hospital told IANS.

To ensure that the babies are virus free, the doctors in the hospital immediately isolated the newborns from the infected mothers in most cases.

"This is one of the reasons why the children have been virus free. We have also shifted them to the neonatal care unit," said the official.

To continue protecting the babies from the virus, doctors are keeping them away from the mothers until they test negative.

"Babies are also being tested for Covid on the fifth and 14th day. If they are negative, the babies are being handed over to their relatives or attendees," she said.

All these babies are doing well except a few.

A set of nine babies had tested positive but they came from mothers who lived in high Covid risk zones and did not initially test positive.

"These nine Covid positive babies were born to mothers who did not know their status initially and came from high virus risk places, resulting in the virus passing to them unknowingly," said the hospital's neonatologist.

As many as 138 babies born in the hospital's trauma care centre are Covid free while nine babies out of the 34 born to the mothers from the isolation centre had tested positive.

According to the neonatologist, even the babies born to Covid positive women can be left with the mothers as long as they are asymptomatic and maintain proper breast hygiene.

"Babies born to asymptomatic mothers should be left with the mothers themselves as separation will lead to deprivation of breast milk, depression and psychological issues," she said.

She said there should be some attendee with the mother and baby to take care of hand and breast hygiene, including wearing a mask and taking other precautions.

"If all these issues are taken care of and the mother and child are asymptomatic, they can be together," observed the doctor.

However, in case of symptomatic mothers, she advised separation.