Study: Pregnant women with COVID-19 are 10 times more likely to die, but few are vaccinated

Women’s health experts have vaccinated pregnant women after studies have shown that people infected with the virus give birth prematurely, require inoculation or ventilation, and are more likely to die during childbirth. I am urging you to get vaccinated.

Published in the JAMA Network Open of the American Medical Association the study We examined the health results of 869,079 women who gave birth in a university-based hospital system between March 1 and February 28, 2020. This includes 18,715 people flagged in national databases for being infected with COVID-19.

Studies have shown that infected patients are 40% more likely to give birth prematurely and are six times more likely to be admitted to the hospital’s intensive care unit than non-infected patients.

Data show that during childbirth, approximately 5.2% of COVID-19 patients required intubation and mechanical ventilation, compared to .9%, who were 10 times more likely to die in the hospital. ..

Dr. Jennifer Jolley, Associate Professor of Maternal and Fetal Medicine in the OB / GYN Division of the UCI Medical Center, co-authored this study as part of a team that includes Dr. Ninh T. Nguyen, a UCI Health surgeon. In an interview on Thursday, she said the findings would confirm what obstetricians are seeing among their own patients.

“We don’t really know that pregnant women are more likely to get COVID-19,” Jolly said. “The problem is, the person who got it, [the disease] — If they get it, they will get sick more than non-pregnant women. “

Also, because pregnant mothers transmit important nutrients and oxygen through the placenta, the mother’s respiratory weaknesses and disorders (characteristics of the disease) can: Threatens fetal health..

According to Jolly, doctors may decide to give birth before the birth is due, so instead of relying on uterine damage, they can connect to a machine that provides enough oxygen.

“If the system is broken, the foetation is at risk,” she said.

The study also found that patients with COVID-19 were more likely to be black or Latina than uninfected patients, with discrimination, access to health care, and potential comorbidities. He pointed out racial disparities in maternal health due to imbalanced burdens. Enhanced by a pandemic.

Data collection was done before the COVID-19 vaccine became widely available. According to Jolly, obstetricians initially supported the choice of pregnant women for vaccination, with no evidence of the potential effects of the vaccine on pregnant mothers and fetuses.

But now things are different.

CDC Earlier this month Data from three safety monitoring systems reported that they did not find any safety concerns for pregnant people or their babies vaccinated late in pregnancy, including a significant increase in the risk of miscarriage and infection.

“The benefits of vaccination of pregnant people with the COVID-19 vaccine outweigh the known or potential risks.” CDC officials said With the release on August 11th.

“Increased circulation of highly contagious delta variants, reduced vaccine intake in pregnant people, increased risk of serious illnesses and pregnancy complications associated with COVID-19 infection … Vaccination of this population Is more urgent than ever, “said the release.

Despite the high risk of developing COVID-19 during pregnancy, Jolly said CDC numbers in mid-August indicate that only 23.8% of pregnant women were vaccinated. rice field. 71% of all eligible Americans who have taken at least one dose.

“Looking at numbers like 23.8% means to me that 76.2% of patients are still counseled,” she said, admitting a high level of hesitation about vaccines among pregnant women. rice field.

Jolly recommends that patients be vaccinated as soon as possible, as there is no ideal point for vaccination during pregnancy. In addition to having the potential to save their lives, they can build antibodies that can be shared with the foetation in utero or later through breast milk.

“I want you to get the vaccine as soon as they can move forward for their health and the health of their family,” she said.

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