MORE RISKS TO PREGNANT WOMEN, THEIR NEWBORNS FROM COVID-19 THAN KNOWN BEFORE

Fri 23 April 2021:

Researches at the UK’s University of Oxford have found that pregnant women and newborns face higher risks of health complications associated with COVID-19, according to a fresh study.

“A study of more than 2,100 pregnant women across 18 countries worldwide has revealed that COVID-19 is associated with a higher risk of severe maternal and newborn complications than previously recognised,” the university said in a statement on Friday.

The study was conducted by researchers from the Nuffield Dept of Women’s and Reproductive Health at the University of Oxford, providing comparative information about the effects of COVID-19 in pregnancy.

“Women with COVID-19 during pregnancy were over 50% more likely to experience pregnancy complications (such as premature birth, pre-eclampsia, admission to intensive care and death) compared to pregnant women unaffected by COVID-19. Newborns of infected women were also nearly three times more at risk of severe medical complications, such as admission to a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit – mostly due to premature birth,” Aris Papageorghiou, the study’s co-author, said.

Papageorghiou further noted that there were few maternal deaths recorded, although the risk of dying during and after pregnancy was 22 times higher in women with COVID-19 than in the non-infected pregnant women.