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Research to date shows that the coronavirus very rarely crosses the placenta and infects the fetus, but little is known about the course of COVID-19 in pregnant women. Due to the load on the body, they may be less likely to be infected with SARS-CoV-2.
- Previous studies show that in the case of infection with the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, the fetus is very rarely infected in a pregnant woman. Infection of the mother does not cause any malformations in the fetus
- Pregnant women, however, are more at risk of severe COVID-19 symptoms. This is due to the changes that occur in a woman’s body during pregnancy
Pregnancy and the course of COVID-19
Data on SARS-CoV-2 infections in pregnant women is incomplete, but two positive pieces of information are emerging. So far, scientists have observed that infection of the fetus by a mother with COVID-19 is extremely rare. The second piece of good news is that the coronavirus infection does not adversely affect the development of the fetus.
The bad news is that emerging data suggests pregnancy makes women’s bodies more vulnerable to severe COVID-19. Scientists suggest that this may be because the lungs are loaded with strain during pregnancy. «As the uterus grows, there is less and less room for the lungs. That’s why pregnant women often feel ‘out of breath’, ”adds Denise Jamieson, head of the department of obstetrics and gynecology at Emory University School of Medicine, quoted by Science magazine.
During pregnancy, the heart and the entire circulatory system are also stressed. Blood of pregnant women is more prone to clotting quickly, which is caused by the need to stop bleeding quickly after delivery. Research shows that COVID-19 increases the risk of blood clots, which puts a pregnant woman at greater risk.
See also: Autopsies of patients with COVID-19. “Clots are found in almost every organ”
It may also be caused by changes in the work of the immune system during pregnancy. “Viral infections in pregnant women can be more serious, in part because the entire immune system is set so as not to trigger any immune response against the fetus,” explains Akiko Iwasaki, an immunologist at the Yale School of Medicine.
An infectious disease and pregnancy expert from the University Hospital in Lausanne, David Baud, explains that doctors should protect pregnant patients, and that pregnant women themselves should avoid social contact, protect themselves with mouth and nose guards, and think of themselves as people in a higher group risk.
See also: We can’t build immunity in one day. How to take care of the immune system?
Studies on the course of COVID-19 in pregnancy
The best data to date on COVID-19 and pregnancy comes from the United States and was published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in late June. Of the 91 women of childbearing age who tested positive for the SARS-CoV-412 coronavirus, 2 were pregnant. Scientists noted that pregnant women had 8207 percent. more likely to be hospitalized in intensive care units than their non-pregnant peers. Pregnant by 50 percent they also needed respirators more often, although they were not more likely to die.
The CDC data are only estimates, because information about whether the patient is pregnant was available only to 28 percent. of 326 US women of childbearing age diagnosed with coronavirus infection reported to the CDC by early June.
Another study, published by the Swedish Public Health Agency in Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica, used a more complete set of data. Using Sweden-wide data released during the 4 weeks of March and April, researchers calculated the ICU admission rate of SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus-infected pregnant women versus infected, non-pregnant women of childbearing age. The study was small – only 13 pregnant women infected with the coronavirus and 40 non-pregnant women were admitted to Swedish intensive care units during this period.
Based on these data, researchers noted that pregnant women or women immediately after giving birth (diagnosed with COVID-19) were almost six times more likely to be hospitalized in intensive care units than their non-pregnant peers.
In an article that appeared on the website of the magazine “Science” we read that it is commonly known that pregnancy increases the risk of serious diseases caused by respiratory infections. One study found that pregnant women with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) were significantly more likely to be hospitalized in intensive care units and die than non-pregnant women.
The problems of pregnant women with COVID-19 do not seem to end with childbirth. An analysis of what is happening with coronavirus-infected pregnant women who give birth to a child has been published in the “BJOG” journal. Researchers followed 675 pregnant women admitted to the delivery room at three New York hospitals over the four weeks of March and April. After giving birth, 9 out of 70 (13%) women infected with the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus had at least one of the complications that doctors pay attention to after giving birth – fever, low blood oxygen levels, and re-admission to hospital. Of the 605 women who were not infected with the coronavirus, 27 (4,5%) had one of these problems.
Experts agree that more data is needed to understand the mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus infection in pregnant women and to counter the risks for pregnant women testing positive for COVID-19.
Editors recommend:
- Coronavirus and pregnant women. What is the risk of infection and how can I protect myself?
- Women are more likely to get COVID-19 but less likely to die
- A premature baby defeated the coronavirus. The youngest patient in Scotland to recover from COVID-19