It is normal for pregnant women to feel confused about the news that we are learning about Covid, since they are often contradictory. A few days ago we commented on the results of a large reassuring study that ensured that Covid-19 infection in pregnancy does not cause more premature births and now we know a new one, also quite broad, which assures the opposite: that pregnant women with Covid have greater risk of having a premature birth .
We know that contracting Covid in pregnancy multiplies the risk of complications and needing intensive care, and that is why vaccination of the pregnant woman is strongly recommended at any time during pregnancy. To this is added a new reason, to prevent the risk of premature and very premature birth
Increased risk of preterm and very preterm birth
According to research, published in The Lancet Regional Health-Americas , the risk of very preterm delivery, which occurs at less than 32 weeks’ gestation, was 60 percent higher in people infected with Covid-19 at some point in their life. pregnancy, while the risk of giving birth at less than 37 weeks (all preterm deliveries) was 40 percent higher in infected women.
In the case of people who, in addition to Covid-19, had hypertension, diabetes and / or obesity, the risk of preterm birth increased by 160 percent.
“Preterm birth is associated with many challenging outcomes for pregnant women and babies, and very preterm deliveries carry the highest risk of infant complications,” said study lead author Deborah Karasek, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Obstetrics. , Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences and researcher for the California Preterm Birth Initiative at UCSF.
To carry out the study, more than 240 thousand births registered in California Vital Statistics were analyzed. Of the total number of births, about 9,000, that is, 3.7 percent were identified as Covid positive during pregnancy. The prematurity rate among pregnant women infected with Covid-19 was 11.8 percent compared to 8.7 percent among those not infected.
Vaccination, the best prevention
“Our results point to the importance of preventive measures to reduce COVID-19 infection among pregnant people to prevent preterm birth, including vaccination,” he said. “Pregnant people may have concerns about vaccines and their baby’s health, so it is vitally important to be able to have an open dialogue that assesses those concerns, describes the evidence on safety, and conveys the risks posed by COVID infection. -19 during pregnancy “.
Among the limitations of the study, we found that it could not be determined at what point in the pregnancy the women contracted COVID-19 or how severe the infections were. These are important details for understanding the mechanisms by which COVID-19 affects the risk of preterm birth and is something that continues to be investigated.
Via | University of California – San Francisco
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