Pregnant women who are infected with the coronavirus are about 40% more likely to develop serious complications in their pregnancies than those who are not infected, according to a new US study that highlights the importance of vaccinating pregnant women against Covid-19. In addition to the complications of pregnancy, it is already known that pregnant women are at risk of more serious symptoms of Covid-19, if infected with coronavirus.
The researchers, led by Tory Metz, an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Utah and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, analyzed data from 14.104 women admitted to 17 US medical centers. Of these, 2.350 were positive for coronavirus during pregnancy. More than 13% of them had complications compared to 9% of those who did not have coronavirus, while all maternal deaths (five in total) occurred in pregnant women with coronavirus.
Compared to those who had mild to no symptoms Covid-19, pregnant women with moderate or severe symptoms of infection were three times more likely (26% vs. 9%) to then develop serious pregnancy complications, such as eclampsia, severe hypertension, bleeding, renal failure, organ damage, sepsis, endometritis, etc. Pregnant women with moderate to severe Coviid-19 symptoms were even more likely (45% vs. 32%) to give birth by caesarean section, which was not the case for those asymptomatic with coronavirus and those with only mild symptoms.
Coronavirus infection also significantly increased the risk of preterm birth (27% vs. 14%) and infant admission to the intensive care unit, as well as miscarriage or stillbirth (3,5% vs. 1,8%). Obese pregnant women (with a body mass index above 30) were at the highest risk if they became infected with the coronavirus.
The researchers concluded that the severity of its symptoms Covid-19 is a key indicator for predicting the increased risk of complications during pregnancy. "We already knew that pregnant women were at greater risk for her own complications Covid-19. Our research is one of the first to show that coronavirus infection can increase the risk of serious complications associated with pregnancy complications. "That's why we need to make sure pregnant women are being vaccinated," said Dr. Metz.
The study also found that only one in 100 babies (1,2%) was diagnosed with coronavirus after birth and until they left the maternity ward.
A second U.S. study, led by Dr. Andrea Edlow of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, published in the same medical journal, found that at the age of six months, babies born to mothers who were fully vaccinated against Covid-19 (with two doses of vaccine mRNA) during pregnancy had a much higher rate (57%) of coronavirus IgG antibodies in their blood than those vaccinated (only 8%) who had been infected with the virus while pregnant .
It is not yet clear how high levels of antibodies are needed to protect a baby from infection Covid-19, while it is also known that antibodies are not the only defense mechanism of the organism.
Source: RES-EAP