The CDC previously said on its website: “Although there is currently no data showing that COVID-19 affects pregnant people differently than others, we do know that pregnant people are at a higher risk of getting sick from other respiratory viruses than women. people who are not pregnant. “
Now the new MMWR report has provided data; But there are some important limitations.
CDC researcher: ‘Pregnant women were 50% more likely to be admitted to the intensive care unit’
The study included information on 326,335 women ages 15 to 44 who tested positive for coronavirus.
“This new report includes the largest cohort of pregnant women in the US with laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection,” said Sara Oliver of the CDC National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases during a Committee meeting Advisor on Immunization Practices on Wednesday.
What is not clear is whether pregnant women were hospitalized due to complications related to their coronavirus infections or if they were hospitalized for pregnancy-related reasons and by chance also had coronaviruses.
Regarding Covid-19 symptoms, experiences were similar between pregnant and non-pregnant women (cough and shortness of breath), but pregnant women reported headache, muscle aches, fever, chills, and diarrhea less frequently than non-pregnant women.
However, more than 31% of pregnant women who contracted coronavirus were hospitalized, compared to 5.8% of nonpregnant women, according to the report.
“Pregnant women were 50% more likely to be admitted to the intensive care unit and 70% more likely to receive mechanical ventilation,” Oliver said in his presentation. “16 deaths were reported among pregnant women, in a similar proportion to non-pregnant women.”
Specifically, pregnant women entered the intensive care unit more frequently, with 1.5%, than non-pregnant women, with 0.9%.
Similarly, 0.5% of pregnant women require mechanical ventilation compared to 0.3% of non-pregnant women, according to the report.
Among pregnant and nonpregnant women, approximately 0.2% died.
The data also showed racial disparities among pregnant women with coronavirus infection: 46% were Hispanic, 22% were black, and 23% were white. The researchers noted that those proportions differ from the 2019 pregnancy data, showing that among the women who gave birth last year, 24% were Hispanic, 15% were black, and 51% were white.
This suggests that black and Hispanic women are more likely to be hospitalized with coronaviruses, something that has been seen in other research.
Actions that pregnant women can take
The CDC researchers included some steps that pregnant women can take to help prevent the risk of severe Covid-19 disease.
“Although additional data is needed to better understand these observed high risks, pregnant women should be aware of their potential risk for serious COVID-19 disease,” the CDC researchers wrote in the report.
“Specific actions that pregnant women can take include not skipping prenatal care appointments, limiting interactions with other people as much as possible, taking precautions to avoid getting COVID-19 when interacting with other people, having a supply of medications to for at least 30 days and talk to your healthcare provider about how to stay healthy during the COVID-19 pandemic, “the researchers wrote.
“To reduce serious COVID-19 outcomes among pregnant women, measures to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection should be emphasized, and potential barriers to the ability to adhere to these measures should be addressed.”
A “different level of risk”
ACOG said it is reviewing its Covid-19 related patient materials and clinical resources.
“During this public health crisis, it is critical that healthcare is informed by evidence and data. The COVID-19 pandemic continues to be a rapidly evolving situation, and as new research and data become available, recommendations for care Clinic should be refined to reflect the most up-to-date information, “Dr. Christopher Zahn, vice president of practice activities for ACOG, said in the statement.
“As the pandemic continues, ACOG urges its members to encourage pregnant patients who test positive for COVID-19 to consider enrolling in an appropriate COVID-19 registry, such as the COVID-19 PRIORITY Registry, to assist the medical community to better understand the impact of COVID-19 on pregnancy outcomes, “Zahn said.
Early talks on pregnancy and the Covid vaccine
“The new information from CDC highlights the importance of pregnant patients receiving priority for a coronavirus vaccine once it is available,” said Zahn.
“Our problem now is that we need to start planning,” he said during the meeting.
“Part of the reason we want this early discussion on how I would recommend prioritizing is that we then want to turn it into operational planning with state and local health departments,” Messonnier told committee members. “But until we can articulate the groups to prioritize, we can’t move on to the next step.”
Messonnier added that the nation’s goal is still to have a vaccine available to everyone by next year, but identifying priority groups could help guide vaccine distribution plans.
“The question is, I don’t think we can tell you today when those amounts of vaccine will be available and what they will be, but if that gives you an idea of the scheme: next year, enough for everyone,” Messonnier said.
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