How dangerous is COVID-19 for pregnant women?

One in six severe COVID-19 patients is an unvaccinated pregnant woman, according to UK health authorities. Two new studies have shown how dangerous coronavirus infection is for an expectant mother and her baby.

According to Medportal.ru, during the first study, specialists from the University of Texas analyzed all confirmed cases of COVID-19 in women who gave birth in a Texas hospital from March to September 2020.

Among those who had symptoms of the disease, 58% of patients required emergency hospitalization. In the group of women who had asymptomatic coronavirus infection, 46% of women required emergency medical care.

Women with COVID-19 were more likely to be diagnosed with breech presentation and chronic inflammation, which negatively affected the condition of newborns. These children were more likely to require oxygen support and hospitalization in an intensive care unit.

Also, women with COVID-19 are more likely than healthy women to have a caesarean section.

Another study was conducted by specialists at the Mayanei Hayeshua Medical Center in Israel. A third of the infected women (33%) had symptoms of the disease, and it was in this group that the most severe complications were identified - the likelihood is 20% higher than in healthy women. Among pregnant women with asymptomatic infection, the risk of complications was 14% higher.

Patients with COVID-19 were more likely to be diagnosed with gestational diabetes, their white blood cell counts were low, and they had an increased risk of heavy bleeding during childbirth. Their children were more likely to develop respiratory failure.

According to the authors of both studies, all these results clearly demonstrate the need to vaccinate pregnant women.

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