Q: I delivered my first baby last year by a caesarean section on account of reduction of fluid in the uterus. After 3 months the baby developed chronic fever and the local doctor treated for malaria as there was an enlargement of spleen and liver. Since nothing could be done by the local doctors, we took the baby to Mumbai. Various tests were conducted there but the baby died at the age of 4 months. The doctor gave the cause as viral fever caused by CMV-IMG virus. I am again pregnant (6 weeks) and am anaemic. The doctors, however, have taken blood for various tests which will be conducted only in Mumbai. In the meantime they have started me on folic acid. I would like to know: 1. Will the second delivery necessarily be a caesarean one as it is within 2 years of the last one 2. Is there any chance of the viral infection recurring in the 2nd baby? 3. Can anaemia be cured by a nutritious diet and if so, what should be my diet during pregnancy and as a lactating mother after delivery?

A:Whether the 2nd delivery would be a caesarean section would depend upon various factors: the baby's size in the last month of pregnancy, the presenting part, scar thickness, liquor volume, etc. Depending upon these factors; it will be decided in the last month regarding the mode of delivery. - do repeat TORCH: IgG, IgM values - also do: Lupus anticoagulant, ACL, ANA, dsDNA, Glucose Tolerance Test, S. T3, T4, TSH. - do haemoglobin electrophoresis to rule out sickle cell anaemia or thalassaemia. - eat lots of green leafy vegetables, apples, figs, dates, jaggery and red beans.