With all the talk about the Coronavirus COVID-19, experts and people alike are trying to figure out which groups are more susceptible to the disease: the elderly? People of Asian descent? African Americans? And one group that is particularly getting a lot of attention is pregnant women. If you are pregnant and are surrounded by the coronavirus, should you be worried?
Pregnant women do not appear to be more susceptible to severe Covid-19 symptoms and there is no evidence that the virus can pass to a baby during pregnancy, according to new guidance.
The guidelines, issued by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, Royal College of Midwives and Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, offer reassurance to pregnant women in the UK who until now have not been given any specific details on whether they or their baby are at greater risk.
Pregnant women have altered immune systems, which can leave them at a higher risk for severe complications if exposed to viruses like the flu. Some respiratory illnesses can also cause critical illness in very young babies. However, based on available data, neither of these patterns has been seen with Covid-19.
Edward Morris, president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, said: “As this is a very new virus, we are just beginning to learn about it, so the guidance will be kept under regular review as new evidence emerges.
“Over the coming weeks and months, it is likely pregnant women in the UK will test positive for coronavirus. While the data is currently limited it is reassuring that there is no evidence that the virus can pass to a baby during pregnancy.”
Among the research analyzed, experts included a World Health Organization report based in China that looked at 147 pregnant women. It found only 8 percent had severe symptoms and only 1 percent became critically ill.
The large majority of women, it seems, experienced only mild or moderate symptoms, and even though there is one reported case of a pregnant woman who required mechanical ventilation, the new guidelines explain she had an emergency caesarean section and made a good recovery.
“It’s understandable that pregnant women would be concerned about exposure to the virus and any negative effect it could have on their health and the health of their fetus,” Christopher Zahn, from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, told The New York Times recently.
“However, it is critical to note that at this time, for the general public in the United States, the immediate health risk from COVID-19 is considered low.”
Pregnant women are known to have altered immune systems, which does put them at higher risk of complications from viruses like the flu. Still, not all of these illnesses are the same; and it’s still unclear exactly what happens to pregnant women who contract the COVID-19 virus.
As of March 14th, 2020 a newborn baby in England has tested positive for Covid-19. The infant is believed to be one of the world’s youngest patients with the disease.
The mother was rushed to hospital days earlier with suspected pneumonia and she and her child are being treated at separate hospitals, according to The Sun newspaper, which first revealed the case.
The newspaper said the woman was tested at North Middlesex Hospital but the result was not known until after the birth. It is not known whether the child contracted the disease in the womb or was infected during birth.
North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust said: “Two patients at North Middlesex University Hospital have tested positive for coronavirus.
“One has been transferred to a specialist centre and one is being treated in an isolation room.
Posted on March 14, 2020 Dr. P. Gould, BDO Medical Contributor
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