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– In general, we know that pregnant women have a somewhat weakened immune system and therefore may be more exposed to courses of serious illness in viral infections, says assistant health director Espen Rostrup Nakstad to Dagbladet.
There are now several answers, after British researchers have conducted a so-called meta-analysis of up to 77 studies that have been published on pregnant women and COVID-19 so far during the pandemic.
26 of the 77 studies the researchers analyzed are from the United States, 24 from China, seven from Italy, six from Spain, three from Great Britain, three from France, and one from Belgium, Brazil, Denmark, Israel, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands and Portugal.
The results were recently published in the renowned British Medical Journal (BMJ).
The study shows that the most common symptoms among pregnant women with coronavirus infection are fever and cough, but researchers still find that pregnant women with covid-19 are less likely to experience fever and muscle pain than older non-pregnant women fertile that are infected.
Higher risk
Underlying diabetes was seen more often in pregnant women with COVID-19 than in non-pregnant women with the disease.
In addition, the study shows that pregnant patients with COVID-19 are at increased risk of suffering a more serious course of the disease and of pregnancy complications such as premature delivery.
Based on 26 studies involving a total of 11,580 women, the researchers wrote that a total of 73 pregnant women died with confirmed COVID-19.
Severe COVID-19 was diagnosed in 13 percent of pregnant and newly pregnant women with suspected or confirmed COVID-19.
First death
4 percent of pregnant women with covid-19 were admitted to the intensive care unit.
Risk factors for the mother associated with severe COVID-19 are old age, high body mass index, chronic high blood pressure, and pre-existing diabetes.
– The risk to both mother and child means that a precautionary principle is followed when it comes to protecting against infectious diseases, such as covid-19, says Nakstad at the Norwegian Health Directorate.
Norwegian survey
– There are still many unanswered questions about pregnancy and covid-19, but this BMJ study provides a good summary of what has been found so far: that pregnant women are at higher risk of serious disease than non-pregnant women infected of the same age and who are at increased risk of certain pregnancy complications, such as preterm birth, says researcher Maria Christine Magnus of the Department of Fertility and Health at the National Institute of Public Health (NIPH).
Magnus is leading a Norwegian study that will soon analyze data from Norwegian health registries. The aim is for the study to provide a better understanding of the importance of covid-19 in pregnant women.
According to the project description, the researchers want answers to a series of questions:
- Are pregnant women at increased risk for covid-19?
- Are pregnant women with covid-19 at higher risk for serious illnesses?
- Do underlying chronic diseases contribute to an increased risk of severe COVID-19 disease among pregnant women?
- Does covid-19 increase the risk of stillbirth, preterm birth, or other pregnancy complications?
- What is the role of underlying chronic diseases in the risk of stillbirth and pregnancy complications among pregnant women with COVID-19?
- Have women with COVID-19 been more likely to have an induced abortion compared to women who were pregnant during the same period and did not have COVID-19?
- Are women who were pregnant during the COVID-19 pandemic, or who became ill from COVID-19, have a higher risk of anxiety and depression?
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