For pregnant El Paso, Omicron represents a new wave of fear and uncertainty

Just as the pandemic spread around the world in 2020, Nicole Kurck entered the second trimester of pregnancy.

Unable to stay home, she was doing a customer service job. For some time, the only personal protective equipment I had was a cloth mask sewn by a colleague. She and another pregnant colleague exchanged safety tips from OB-GYN and discussed all unanswered questions. How does COVID-19 affect babies? Will she be forced to deliver alone?

By the end of July, she said she was able to avoid getting sick and give birth to her first “healthy and beautifully born” child. She spent nine hours working and was wearing a mask all the time.

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However, shortly after the 2021 Christmas holidays, an unmasked colleague began to work ill. On January 3rd, Kurk received the news. I was vaccinated 5 months after my second pregnancy and was infected with COVID-19.

Pregnant people are facing another wave of fear and uncertainty due to the Omicron variant, which is spurring a new increase in COVID-19 infections in El Paso. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, they are not only at increased risk of serious illness and death from COVID-19 compared to the general population, but are also one of the least vaccinated groups in the country. Almost 60% have not been vaccinated yet..

Kuruk, 33, was soon isolated at Las Cruces’ mother’s house and suffered many obvious symptoms such as coughing, sore throat, vomiting, congestion, and “baseball-like headache”. , Leaving her husband and little son in El Paso. “Face,” she said.

Even worse was isolation. She said she couldn’t see her son “breaking my heart.” “It was hard for him too. FaceTime found that he was angry and didn’t want to talk to me.”

She asked her OB-GYN to talk about her infection, but he never called her. “He doesn’t feel worried about me as a patient or a child. It hurts a bit,” she said.

“I feel very misunderstood,” she added. “I feel like I don’t know what’s going on.”

COVID-19 risk during pregnancy

Dr. Carla Ann Martinez, OB-GYN and Maternal Health Director at the University of El Paso Medical Center, frequently sees patients sharing Kruk’s uncertainty and anxiety. Over the last two years, Martinez “has had more discussions with young, healthy pregnant patients than usual,” she said.

“Who would you like to make a decision if you need to intubate? Who would you like to ask if you need to deliver?” She said. “In general, we are usually a very young and usually healthy population and do not face end-of-life decisions.”

After spending a day at the clinic, Martinez read the notes. Of the 20 patients scheduled for the day, 3 called for cancellation of their appointment because they had a COVID. About half of the patients who entered the delivery unit were positive. All were asymptomatic.

“They’re all okay,” she said. However, as the number of cases in El Paso increases, Martinez, who has taken care of almost all pregnant patients with COVID passing through UMC, is horrifying.

A new variant of Omicron More contagious, but less serious From the previous COVID-19 variant. But as the number of cases increases, so do hospitalizations and deaths, Martinez said.

The overall risk of serious illness and death from COVID-19 in pregnant patients is low, According to the CDC.. Of the approximately 158,000 infectious diseases recorded among pregnant people in the United States over the past two years, 259 have died. At least one El Paso female died of COVID-19 during pregnancy..

However, when comparing the outcomes of people with symptomatic COVID-19 infections, symptomatic pregnant people go to the intensive care unit or medically such as invasive ventilation compared to non-pregnant people. Studies show that you are twice as likely to need intervention, with a 70% increased risk of death. According to the CDC.. These risks last up to about 6 weeks after pregnancy.

This is because the body’s immune system lowers the guard slightly during pregnancy to prevent it from starting to attack the growing foetation. “In a sense, they are immunodeficient,” Martinez said. They are at high risk for other respiratory illnesses such as the flu, which doctors also recommend that pregnant people be vaccinated.

Pregnant people with COVID are also at increased risk of preterm birth and are more likely to be hospitalized in the neonatal ICU. In rare cases, about 1% to 4% infect newborns.

Deaths of pregnant people peaked in August and September 2021 during the viral delta wave. CDC in late September Issue health recommendations Recognizing that approximately 97% of pregnant patients admitted with COVID-19 were unvaccinated, we encouraged pregnant people to be vaccinated. Omicron can cause breakthrough infections with vaccination, but vaccines still protect against serious illness.

Pandemic pregnancy advice

Martinez goes to the hospital for evaluation if the pregnant patient has trouble controlling fluid, is experiencing a fever of 100.4 degrees or higher, or if the baby is not moving as usual recommend to.

She also recommends going to the hospital if she feels short of breath. Doctors want to keep oxygen saturation in the bloodstream of pregnant people high. She said that less than 95% of oxygenation during pregnancy would be admitted to the hospital. For non-pregnant people, the hospitalization threshold is usually below 92%.

Above all, she recommends vaccinations and booster shots.Studies show that the COVID-19 vaccine Can be taken safely during pregnancy, Including a recent assessment of 40,000 pregnant people, Martinez said. During the pandemic process, she lost one unvaccinated pregnant patient with COVID-19. “Too many people die alone,” she said.

“At this point, it really doesn’t have to happen anymore,” she said. “It’s not really the case.”

When Kurk’s isolation was over and he finally met his son, the one-year-old kid “gave me a few slaps,” she said. “(It was like he was asking)” Mom, where did you go? “Then he just started crying. It was really hard to see. “

Kurk is back home. I haven’t fully recovered, but I’m feeling better. Through it, she was comforted by the movement of the child in her belly and the idea of ​​the vaccine she received and protected both.

Cover photo: Nicole Kruk had to be separated from his 1-year-old son while being COVID-19 positive during his current pregnancy. (Photo courtesy of Nicohole Kruk)