SARS-CoV-2 infection can multiply by seven the risk of death and the chances of admission to intensive care in pregnant women, according to a study by researchers in the United States, which brings together data from 12 countries. The work stresses the importance of vaccination against coronavirus, for all women of childbearing age.
These are two of the conclusions of a meta-analysis with data from 12 studies from 12 countries, including Spain and the United States, in which 13,136 women have participated. The results, which also show increased risks for babies, are published in BMJ Global Health.
“This study provides the most comprehensive evidence to date suggesting that COVID-19 is a threat during pregnancy,” summarizes Emily R. Smith, of the George Washington University Milken Institute and lead author of the study.
In some cases, women hesitate or refuse to receive the vaccine or booster dose, because they do not believe that COVID-19 poses risks or are not convinced of its safety during pregnancy, recalls a note from the university US.
Some doctors may even hesitate to give the vaccine to a pregnant woman, even if it is recommended, Smith says.
The researchers scrutinized data from pregnant women from Ghana, China-Hong Kong, Italy, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Turkey, Uganda and the United States.
They found that, compared with uninfected pregnant women, pregnant women with COVID-19 infection had a seven times higher risk of dying during pregnancy or childbirth, and a nearly four times higher risk of being admitted to the intensive care unit. .
Regarding thromboembolic disease or blood clots, the danger is more than five times higher. Also, a 15 times greater risk of needing ventilator treatment and 23 times more likely to develop pneumonia.
Babies born to women with COVID-19 infection were nearly twice as likely to be admitted to a neonatal care unit; almost three times more likely to be born moderately preterm (before 34 weeks); and 19% more likely to have low birth weight.
But, unlike the results of previous reviews, COVID-19 infection was not associated with an increased risk of stillbirth at 28 weeks of pregnancy or more, nor with restricted growth, reports Agencias Internacionales.
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