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- Pregnant women with COVID-19 have much higher rates of adverse birth outcomes compared to healthy pregnant patients.
- The research looked at 869,079 women who gave birth in the past year or more.
- The CDC encourages pregnant women to get vaccinated, which is not related to any known safety risks.
For more than a year, doctors and researchers have observed how pregnancy increases the risk of complications from COVID-19. But a study published this month showed just how dangerous the disease can be for pregnant women and their unborn babies.
The study, published in the JAMA Network Open, looked at 869,079 women who gave birth in nearly 500 U.S. medical centers between March 1, 2020 and February 28, 2021.
Researchers found that the 18,715 patients with COVID-19 were more than five times more likely to be admitted to intensive care, more than 14 times more likely to need intubation or mechanical ventilation, and more than 15 times more likely to die.
Women with COVID-19 were also about 40% more likely to give birth prematurely.
Study co-author Dr Jennifer Jolley, associate professor in the OB / GYN department at UCI Medical Center, told the LA Times that the statistics match what clinicians see in the field.
She said she wanted her pregnant patients “to receive the vaccine as soon as they can, for their health and that of their families.”
Previous research has shown higher rates of ICU and death in pregnant COVID-19 patients
The research – the largest to date using a single database to collect data on childbirth with COVID-19 – confirms previous findings showing why pregnant people are considered a vulnerable population, especially minorities and women. immunocompromised people.
In the current study, black and Hispanic women, as well as those with obesity, anemia, and pulmonary artery disease, were disproportionately affected by the disease and its negative outcomes.
A January article reported that 0.14% of pregnant COVID-19 patients died, compared to 0.005% of pregnant women without the disease. A global meta-analysis from September 2020 also found higher rates of ICU admission and ventilation in COVID-19 positive pregnant people compared to non-pregnant COVID-19 patients.
And, a November 2020 CDC analysis examining data from about 400,000 adolescents and women with symptomatic COVID-19 found that those who were pregnant were nearly four times more likely to need ventilation and two. times more likely to die than non-pregnant women with COVID-19. of the same age.
Clinicians may be more careful with pregnant COVID-19 patients, contributing to higher rates of intensive care admissions and even preterm deliveries, as they can induce moms early if it seems safer than letting them come out of the pregnancy while they are sick.
Results highlight the ‘urgent’ need for vaccination during pregnancy
The report came out just as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention moved its recommendation for COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy from neutral to encouraged. To date, only 23% of pregnant Americans have received the vaccine.
Three safety surveillance systems have shown that, unlike the virus, the vaccine is not linked to any increase in adverse pregnancy outcomes such as miscarriages, premature births or deaths. Additionally, Delta is more contagious than the original COVID strain and can be more dangerous for anyone infected, including pregnant women.
“Vaccines are safe and effective, and it has never been more urgent to increase vaccinations as we face the highly transmissible Delta variant and see severe consequences of COVID-19 in unvaccinated pregnant people. “CDC director Rochelle Walensky said in an Aug.11 statement. declaration.
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