Must-read info if you’re currently pregnant or know someone who is.
It’s official: everyone is terrified of the new coronavirus, COVID-19. This despite claims by government agencies and experts that the overall risk to the public is low and doctors’ assurances that most people who contract the virus have very mild symptoms.
Of course, certain people are more vulnerable than others. The World Health Organization says that older people and people with pre-existing health conditions are at the highest risk of becoming seriously ill with the virus. When it comes to pregnant women, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) clarified this week that expectant mothers “may be at increased risk for serious COVID-19 disease” compared to non-pregnant women.
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There has been a paucity of information from published scientific reports on the susceptibility of pregnant women to the new coronavirus.
“Understanding the course of infection in pregnant women is a very important research question that needs to be answered,” infectious disease expert Amesh A. Adalja, MD, principal investigator at the Center for Health Safety, told Health in early March. Johns Hopkins. “Pregnant women should also be included in antiviral and vaccine trials.”
However, as time passes, we are learning more. A study published this week in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report involving more than 326,000 women of childbearing potential who tested positive for COVID-19 found that pregnant women were more likely to be hospitalized, but were not more likely to die than disease than others. woman.
Of course, the biggest concern for a pregnant woman may be if her unborn child is at risk. If you contract the virus, can you pass it to the fetus?
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To date, the evidence has been quite limited. (A study at JAMA Pediatrics suggests that mother-to-baby transmission may be possible sometime in and around the time of delivery, while two recent case reports at JAMA raise questions about whether this can happen in utero.)
Dr. Adalja said the virus is more likely to spread to a baby after birth, by close contact with a person who carries the virus.
There is currently no approved vaccine to prevent coronavirus; Vaccines have been developed and are currently being tested, but the best-case scenario is that a vaccine will not be available until late 2020 or early 2021, according to the nation’s leading infectious disease, Anthony Fauci, MD, told one Chamber committee Tuesday, by USA Today. Therefore, the medical council focuses on preventive measures to try to stop the spread of the virus.
“The information and advice we give to pregnant women are the same as for the general population,” says Rebecca C. Brightman, MD, an assistant clinical professor of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive medicine at Icahn School of Medicine. at Mount Sinai.
The most important thing a pregnant woman can do to protect herself from the virus is to avoid contact with anyone who has flu symptoms or an upper respiratory infection, says Dr. Brightman. If you don’t feel well, stay home. And if respiratory symptoms develop (such as the stuffy nose, runny nose, sneezing, or cough), be sure to see a doctor.
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“Everyone, pregnant or not, should practice good hand-washing measures, that is, washing regularly with soap and using hand sanitizers,” says Dr. Brightman. “Cover your mouth or nose when you sneeze, using your sleeve or scarf, and avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.”
The information in this story is accurate at the time of publication. However, as the situation around COVID-19 continues to evolve, some data may have changed since its publication. While Health is trying to keep our stories as up-to-date as possible, we also encourage readers to stay informed on news and recommendations for their own communities using CDC, WHO, and your local department of public health as resources.
