Pregnant women with COVID are nearly 8 times more likely to die and 23 times more likely to develop pneumonia, new study finds

Their infants may experience adverse outcomes, too, the researchers found. They are more likely to be born early and have a low birth weight—factors that can result chronic health issuesfeeding problems, greater risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), and other complications later in life.

The study analyzed data from nearly 13,000 women who experienced COVID during their pregnancy. The women are from 12 countries, including Ghana, China/Hong Kong, Italy, Kenya, Nigeria, South AfricaSpain, Sweden, Democratic Republic of Congo, Turkey, Uganda, and the US Most were not vaccinated, and their pregnancies generally occurred early in the pandemic.

Researchers found that women who experienced COVID during their pregnancy were:

• nearly 8 times more likely to die.
• more than 23 times more likely to develop pneumonia.
• more than 15 times more likely to require ventilation.
• nearly 6 times more likely to experience thromboembolic disease.
• more than 5 times more likely to require critical care.
• nearly 4 times more likely to require ICU admission.
• less likely to experience hypertensive disorder and/or pre-eclampsia, or need a C-section.

Their children are:

• more likely to be born early.
• less likely to be born with a low birth weight (less than 5.5 pounds).

Dr. Mark Turrentine—an OBGYN and member of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists’ COVID-19 expert working group, as well as a professor at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas—called the new study “very critical,” which says that it brings together data on the subject, on a global basis, for the first time.

The risk of COVID may not be appreciated by pregnant women, he said luck in a statement.

“Pregnant women are usually young and healthy,” he said. “There is, perhaps, a misconception that they are not ‘sick’ in this condition. This feeling of being ‘protected,’ coupled with concerns about the safety (although not established) of a ‘new’ vaccine, is leading” many pregnant women to avoid getting the COVID vaccine.

The virus is known to affect the placenta

The study did not examine the reasons behind the increased risks, Dr. Emily Smith, assistant professor of global health at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health and the lead author of the study, said. Good luck.

He estimated that many factors are at play, including the virus itself, and immunological and physiological changes that occur during pregnancy. Like the flu, COVID in pregnancy can create issues like pneumonia and the need for ventilation. But it also seems to increase the likelihood of common pregnancy complications such as hypertensive disorders and pre-eclampsia, he said.

Dr. Sarah Mulkey, prenatal-neonatologist neurologist at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, DC, treats pregnant women with neurological concerns for their fetuses, as well as their babies in the NICU. Some of her pregnant patients have COVID, and she monitors their children for developmental delays after birth.

Mulkey also considered the high risk for pregnant women with multifactorial COVID, and said they are more exposed to the virus.

“The mother’s immune system is very different during pregnancy,” she said Good luck. “When a woman gets sick with an infection, she has less of her own immunity to help fight the infection, and can be more seriously ill compared to someone who is not pregnant.”

In addition, COVID is known to affect the placenta, sometimes leading to stillbirth, he added. Smith’s study found that pregnant women who experienced COVID had a slightly increased risk of stillbirth.

Anecdotally, pregnant women with COVID are often left untreated, Smith said, with medical providers reluctant to recommend new drugs and vaccines, fearing side effects.

The study highlighted the need for more COVID vaccinations among pregnant women, and found that more than 80 countries have failed to recommend it.

“There are potential risks, of course, with new drugs and treatments,” he said. “But there’s also a risk of disease. I think sometimes people get the risk/benefit calculation wrong, or the data isn’t there for it. But this study gives us data.”

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