As expectant moms postpone deliveries, docs say births to suit auspicious time is commonplace
As expectant moms postpone deliveries, docs say births to suit auspicious time is commonplace
A stitch in time is making obstetricians sore. Doctors across the city have been inundated with requests to postpone deliveries till the eclipse ends today.
Dr Kiran Coelho, coordinator at the ob-gyn department at Lilavati Hospital said, "Patients don't even want to come in for routine gynaecological check-ups, leave alone having their baby delivered."
However, requests for postponing or inducing an early delivery are not new. 
Doctors say couples want their baby to be delivered at a pre-decided auspicious time and are willing to pay that much more, if required and these planned surgeries continue throughout the year at all odd times of the day and night.
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And couples are willing to pay Rs 25,000 to Rs 30,000 more to employ emergency services at odd hours.
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Please, please
"Only two months ago I had a patient who wanted their baby delivered at 5 am and I had a busy schedule ahead of me, so I refused.
Soon after, the father who was working in the IT department got someone from the commissioner's office to call me and cajole me into doing the C-section.
They even traced out a distant friend who called me to intervene on the couple's behalf," said said Dr Rishma Pai, obstetrician at Jaslok and Lilavati Hospital.
She finally did it because the couple was desperate, but said these requests that used to be few and far between are now becoming increasingly commonplace. The mahurat surgeries are then recorded as emergency C-sections.
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Other options
"If you say no, there are hundreds of other places with doctors willing to do it at a time convenient for the couple.
You have the couple calling back after the delivery and sniggering at you," said Dr Anita Sonia, obstetrician at L H Hiranandani Hospital.
And there are the hormones. "A pregnant mother gets very emotional and it is my aim to make the pregnancy a memorable occasion," added Dr Coelho.
"I'm a staunch supporter of natural deliveries, but we do oblige some requests.
Noted astrologer Bejan Daruwala doesn't himself believe in predicting an auspicious time for a baby's birth.
"But that doesn't stop couples from asking," he said, adding that he gets such requests from nearly 20 couples every month.
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