Pregnant Women Have Higher Risk of Complications of COVID, Study Says

Pregnant women (and their newborns) hospitalized for COVID-19 had a higher risk of complications from the disease compared to the rest of the population, according to a study.

The research found that “pregnant women were nearly 3.5 times more likely than non-pregnant women to require respiratory support when hospitalized for COVID-19.” One in five pregnant patients required non-mechanical respiratory support. Additionally, the results suggest that care teams are “more likely to provide respiratory support for pregnant patients” even beyond disease severity.

During the period reflected in the study, “one in every eight hospitalized women of childbearing age was pregnant.” Nearly 70% of patients who gave birth during their COVID-19 hospitalization “delivered preterm, and 44% of babies delivered during the mother’s hospital stay were admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).” Pregnant patients also face “greater rates of unique, cardiovascular pregnancy complications, such as preeclampsia, peripartum cardiomyopathy, and spontaneous coronary dissections.”

Additionally, most pregnant women requiring mechanical ventilation were “in their third trimester.” Seven of the eight pregnant women in the study placed on a ventilator were “unvaccinated against COVID-19.”