SALT LAKE CITY – Pregnant women who have developed severe symptoms of COVID-19 have a higher risk of pregnancy complications and even death compared to women who have had no symptoms or mild or moderate symptoms, according to a new study led from a researcher at the University of Utah.
The good news, according to the study, is that most pregnant women studied did not experience severe or critical effects of COVID-19; Dr. However, Torri Metz, associate professor and associate specialist in maternal fetal medicine at the University of Utah Health and lead author of the study, said it is still difficult to know why some pregnant women develop severe symptoms while others do not. .
“(Adverse consequences) seem to be mainly to that serious and critical group, but we have no control over who will end up in that serious and critical group,” she told the media in a briefing on Friday. “And since it was 12% of our population, I think we need to take it into our context to know that if pregnant women do develop COVID-19, they are at risk of developing serious and critical illnesses. And if they do, they are at risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes. ”
The study was announced in time on Friday to be presented at the annual meeting of the Association for Maternal-Fetal Medicine. From March 1 to July 31, 2020, researchers analyzed data from more than 1,200 pregnant women at 33 hospitals in 14 states.
In total, almost half were asymptomatic, while 27% had mild symptoms and 14% had moderate symptoms. Another 8% experienced severe symptoms and 4% critical symptoms.
Those who tended to experience worse symptoms were older, had a higher body mass index, and were more likely to have underlying health conditions such as asthma, diabetes, or high blood pressure, researchers found. The chance that the women have more serious consequences of the coronavirus is more likely to die or experience serious complications, such as premature birth, postpartum hemorrhage or heavy postpartum hemorrhage, high blood pressure during pregnancy or a caesarean section.
The mortality rate from the COVID-19 study in women was also 0.3%, which is equivalent to 3 deaths per 1,000 or 300 per 100,000. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the last known percentage was 17.4 deaths per 100,000 in pregnant women without COVID-19.
“It’s much higher than would be expected at baseline, and it’s definitely worrying,” Metz said. “In pregnancy, we see the same as we see in non-pregnant people, because there is an increased mortality rate during this period.”
The data on higher deaths associated with COVID-19 is something Metz’s colleagues from the University of Utah Health mentioned during an information session Thursday. During the briefing, experts said COVID-19 is the third leading cause of death in Utah during 2020 behind heart disease and cancer. It even surpassed heart disease and cancer by the end of the year.
The researchers were “in some respects” surprised by the findings. Metz explained that they were not sure if COVID-19 had adverse effects on pregnancy. They also did not know if it would be affected by the severity of the disease.
There were also some limitations to the study. She added that an “overwhelming majority” of the patients studied were in the third trimester of their pregnancy. Researchers do not yet know if infection in the first trimester would cause congenital anomalies.
Metz said the study could be considered reassuring for women experiencing mild or moderate COVID-19 symptoms, which was the majority of those who experienced symptoms. Since there is no way to know someone’s outcome in advance, she said pregnant women wear a mask, take social distance and follow all other public health measures to reduce the risk of contracting COVID-19.
Advice for COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy
Pregnant women were not included during the initial COVID-19 vaccine trials. Pfizer is currently studying the vaccine in pregnant women, but these trials have not yet been completed. At this stage of the vaccination, pregnant medical staff, emergency response or teachers will be among the individuals who have to make the decision about vaccination.
The CDC’s official position on the matter is that those who are pregnant should consult their healthcare provider because there is no information on the subject. It was added that there are no indications of risk from mRNA vaccine studies.
“When making a decision, pregnant women and their healthcare providers should consider the level of transmission of the COVID-19 community, the patient’s personal risk of contracting COVID-19, the risks of COVID-19 for the patient and potential risks to the fetus, vaccine efficacy, vaccine side effects and lack of vaccine data during pregnancy, “the CDC recommends.
While the study does not deal with vaccines, Metz said that knowledge of the risks of COVID-19 disease is something women should consider when deciding to have a child during the pandemic, and whether they have a Want to get COVID-19 vaccine.
This story will be updated.
Carter Williams