Women who are pregnant and have recently given birth are still at risk during a pandemic.

An updated global survey, conducted by the University of Birmingham, under the auspices of the WHO, found that COVID-19 is diagnosed in one in ten women who are pregnant or have recently given birth who are hospitalized or hospitalized for various reasons.

A report published in the British Medical Journal found that a total of 339 deaths from various causes in pregnant women with confirmed COVID-19 were reported in the studies over the observation period. Meanwhile, the rates of stillbirth and neonatal death in expectant mothers with COVID-19 or suspected infection are quite low, scientists noted. However, women with COVID-19 are more likely to have premature births and their babies are placed in neonatal wards.

The most common symptoms of COVID-19 in pregnant women are fever (40%) and cough (41%), while the infection is more often asymptomatic compared to other women of reproductive age or who have recently given birth to expectant mothers. But at the same time, they have a higher risk of severe course and hospitalization.

The key factors of complications due to COVID-19 in mothers-to-be are overweight, concomitant chronic diseases, primarily hypertension and diabetes, as well as race - black and colored women are more susceptible to a severe course of the disease.