SALT LAKE CITY – Pregnant women who developed severe symptoms of COVID-19 were at higher risk of pregnancy complications and even death compared to women who experienced no symptoms or mild or moderate symptoms, according to a new study led by a University researcher from Utah.
The good news, according to the study, is that most of the pregnant women examined did not experience any serious or critical effects from COVID-19; Dr. However, Torri Metz, an associate professor and subspecialist of maternal fetal medicine at the University of Utah Health, and the study’s lead author, said it’s still difficult to know why some pregnant women developed severe symptoms and others didn’t.
“(Negative effects) seem to be mainly limited to that serious and critical group, but we have no control over who ends up in that serious and critical group,” she said in a briefing with the media on Friday. “And since that was 12% of our population, I think we have to put that in context to know that if pregnant women develop COVID-19, they are at risk of developing serious and critical illness. if they do, they are. are at risk of unfavorable pregnancy outcomes. ”
The study was released Friday in time to be presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine. Researchers analyzed data from more than 1,200 pregnant women in 33 hospitals in 14 states from March 1 to July 31, 2020.
In all, nearly half were asymptomatic, while 27% reported mild symptoms and 14% experienced moderate symptoms. Another 8% experienced severe symptoms and 4% experienced 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 women who were more likely to have serious consequences from the coronavirus were more likely to die or have serious complications, such as premature birth, postpartum or heavy bleeding after delivery, high blood pressure during pregnancy, or having a caesarean section.
The death rate from the study of COVID-19 in women was also 0.3%, which equates to 3 deaths per 1,000 or 300 per 100,000. The last known rate of 17.4 deaths per 100,000 in pregnant women without COVID-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“This is much higher than would be expected at baseline and it is certainly worrying,” Metz said. “During pregnancy, we see the same thing that we see in non-pregnant people: there are increased death rates during this time.”
The data on higher deaths associated with COVID-19 is something colleagues from the University of Utah Health of Metz mentioned at a briefing Thursday. During that briefing, experts said COVID-19 was the third leading cause of death in Utah in 2020 after heart disease and cancer. It even surpassed heart disease and cancer at certain points during the year-end.
The researchers were “in a way” surprised by the findings. Metz explained that they were not sure if there were any adverse pregnancy outcomes with COVID-19 when they started the study. They also did not know whether 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 their third trimester of pregnancy. Researchers still don’t know if an infection in the first trimester would cause birth defects.
Metz said the study can be considered reassuring for women who experience mild or moderate COVID-19 symptoms, which was the majority of those who experienced symptoms. That said, because there is no way to know anyone’s outcome ahead of time, she advised pregnant women to wear a mask, socialize distance, and follow all other public health measures aimed at reducing the risk of COVID-19 .
Advice for vaccination with COVID-19 during pregnancy
Pregnant women were not included in the initial vaccination trials with COVID-19. Pfizer is currently studying the vaccine in pregnant women, but those studies have not yet been completed. At this point in the vaccine rollout, pregnant medical professionals, emergency responders or teachers would be among the individuals who should make the decision about vaccination.
The CDC’s official stance on the matter is that those who are pregnant should consult their healthcare provider as there is no data on the subject. It added that there is no evidence of risk from mRNA vaccine studies.
“Pregnant people and their caregivers should consider the level of COVID-19 transmission from the community, the patient’s personal risk of contracting COVID-19, the risks of COVID-19 to the patient and possible risks to the fetus, the efficacy of the vaccine, the side effects of the vaccine and the lack of data on the vaccine during pregnancy, ”the CDC advises.
Although the study did not cover vaccines, Metz said knowing the risks of COVID-19 disease is something women should weigh when deciding whether to have a child during the pandemic, and if they have a COVID-19 vaccine.
This story is being updated.
Carter Williams