According to research, pregnant women are at no greater risk of developing severe COVID-19 symptoms and are less likely to get hospitalized. Between March 1 and April 14, there were 427 mothers-to-be who were admitted to NHS hospitals with the life-threatening coronavirus.
Are pregnant women safe from COVID-19?
Only one in ten needed treatment in ICU, which is not a high figure as experts expected. But the study revealed that five pregnant women are known to have died with COVID-19 and they are believed to be the first ones that the statistics recorded. However, the data suggests that pregnant women are not as prone to becoming ill to COVID-19, despite them being included on the list of high risk people.
Generally, pregnant women are more likely to catch an infection because they have a weaker immune system. A study from Oxford University found that women from BAME backgrounds were more than four times likely to be admitted to hospital with the infection.
According to the results of the study, obesity, having pre-existing health conditions and being over the age of 35 also raised the odds of being infected. The research also looked at the babies of the mothers with COVID-19, finding one in four babies were born early.
Unfortunately, five of the babies in the study died, but three of the babies were definitely unrelated to the coronavirus. It still remains unclear whether the virus contributed to the other two deaths. There is still no evidence to suggest pregnant women are more likely to catch to the coronavirus than the general population.
However, because of the changes to the immune system, it has been speculated by health experts that pregnant women may be more vulnerable to severe infection. The study was conducted by Oxford researchers and they partnered with the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.
The patient data for the study was collected from all 194 hospitals in the UK. Almost 430 pregnant women were admitted to hospitals for having COVID-19. More than half or 55% of pregnant women who were admitted to hospitals with coronavirus were from BAME background, but only 13% of the UK population identify themselves as BAME.
The researchers suggested that it is important for women to be shielded from the coronavirus in their third or second trimester compared to the first.
Who are at risk?
All pregnant women who are over the age of 35 years old should take precaution. Study shows that 35% of them are more likely to be diagnosed in the hospital. Overweight and obese people are also twice as likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19 than those who had a BMI under 25.
Pregnant women with pre-existing health conditions were also 52% more likely to be admitted to the hospital. Smoking rates were lower in pregnant women admitted to hospital for COVID-19 than in the comparison group. Scientists are now suspecting that smokers have some form of protection from the coronavirus based on international research. Overall, the rate of pregnant women dying from COVID-19 is 1.2%
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