Pregnant women with Covid 50% more likely to face severe complications, study finds

Pregnant women who catch COVID-19 are over 50% more likely to experience severe complications such as premature birth, admission to intensive care and death, a major study has found.

Newborns of infected women were also nearly three times more at risk of severe medical complications and close to 10% tested positive during the first few days of their life, the study of more than 2,100 pregnant women across 18 countries worldwide revealed.

Scientists leading the study warned the risk to mothers and babies is greater than acknowledged at the beginning of the pandemic, and called for pregnant women to be offered a COVID-19 vaccine.

Stephen Kennedy, a professor of reproductive medicine at the University of Oxford, who co-led the study, said: “We now know that the risks to mothers and babies are greater than we assumed at the start of the pandemic and that known health measures when implemented must include pregnant women.

“The information should help families, as the need to do all one can to avoid becoming infected is now clear.

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Source: The Independent, 24 April 2021