It was not known until recently whether infection with Covid-19 increases the risk of serious pregnancy and childbirth complications, until the Journal of the American Medical Association published the result of the first large study assessing this relationship.

COVID-19 is restricting the growth of fetuses

The study lasted for nearly a year, and was subjected to 14,104 pregnant women who were followed up during and after childbirth, and who gave birth to their sons between March 1, 2020 and December 31, 2020, before a vaccine for the Covid-19 virus was available, and their follow-up continued until February 11. / February 2021, and childbirth and care operations took place in 17 different hospitals in America, under the supervision of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, 19 US National Institutes of Health, the Medical Research Agency (NIH), and the Maternal and Fetal Medicine Units (MFMU) of the Pregnancy Research Network .

2352 women of the participants contracted Covid-19 infection during their pregnancy, and 11,752 women did not have positive results for the disease.

When comparing women who were infected with the virus without those who were infected, the first group was more likely to have a caesarean section by 29% or early by 50%, and the odds of a fetus or newborn death increased up to 3.5%, compared to 1.8% in normal cases, and worse symptoms usually occurred for women who They contracted Covid-19 in the first or second trimester of pregnancy, due to the negative effects of virus-related infections on the placenta, and the study also showed higher rates of poor blood vessel pumping in the placenta, thrombosis, and inflammation among infected women, which restricted fetal growth.

COVID-19 has caused severe illness and death in women (Getty Images)

Mother and child death from complications from COVID-19

Covid-19 infection caused severe morbidity and mortality for women during the study by 13.3%, compared to 1.4% in the normal situation.

Indeed, 5 women from the group who were infected with the Covid-19 virus died at the beginning of their pregnancy, and their death was not related to a caesarean section infection, but they developed venous blood clots before giving birth.

In its results, the study indicated that infection with Covid-19 increased the risk of exposure to common pregnancy complications by 95%, so women with moderate to severe infection were more likely to have a cesarean delivery, premature birth (less than 37 weeks of gestation), or death sooner than later. The date of birth, or going through serious health conditions, such as: high blood pressure disorders during pregnancy, or postpartum hemorrhage, and they were more likely to lose a pregnancy, or the death of a newborn child, or the need for detention in intensive care units, or hemolysis, and high enzymes Liver, low platelet count syndrome, cardiomyopathy.

Mild or asymptomatic COVID-19 infection was not associated with an increased risk of pregnancy complications, however, these two conditions were significantly associated with a higher risk of superficial or deep surgical site infections, which are infections that may occur around the birth incision, or in surrounding muscles and tissues, or An organ in the body close to the birth incision, as defined by Johns Hopkins University.

Mild or asymptomatic COVID-19 infection was not associated with an increased risk of pregnancy complications (German)

Pregnant women do not trust the vaccine

When vaccines against COVID-19 were first made available to the public in late 2020, no one knew much about their effect on pregnant women who were not represented in clinical trials that tested the vaccines.

Since they are not usually represented in the tests, this has left pregnant women at a loss as to whether getting vaccinated is the best decision for them and their fetuses, or whether the decision to get vaccinated will prevent them from cuddling their children in the future.

Months did not pass until the World Health Organization (WHO) emphasized the need for pregnant women to be vaccinated, and that women did not need to take a pregnancy test before vaccination, or to delay or abort pregnancy due to vaccination.

The NHS in Britain has also recommended Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna, which are widely used during pregnancy in several countries, and have not been associated with any allergic reactions.

The importance of the vaccine for pregnant women increased after knowing the severity of the infection with Covid-19 during pregnancy, so Diana Bianchi, Director of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Health, advised - based on the results of the latest study - the need to vaccinate women of childbearing age, pregnant women, and take other precautions against infection with the Covid-19 virus. Considering that the vaccine is the best way to protect pregnant women and their babies.

However, it seems that pregnant women are not yet confident in the vaccine;

According to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only about 40% of pregnant women in the United States have been vaccinated, and the numbers are similarly declining around the world, causing a large number of pregnant women in hospitals, after their pregnancy caused stress to the cardiovascular system and shortness of breath, and was Almost 20% of critical cases in UK hospitals are pregnant.