SARS-CoV-2or Covid-19 is a novel coronavirus capable of causing severe acute respiratory syndrome and pneumonia. The virus is spreading rapidly, with a basic reproduction number (R) of 2-25, indicating rapid spread [1]. Since the WHO declared the pandemic and due to the lack of proper antibody protection, an antiviral or vaccine, the virus has infected millions of people worldwide, pregnant women being not spared. Theoretically, the pregnancy and the pregnancy induced physiological changes, immunotolerance and immune depression in particular, might make mothers-to-be and their fetuses more susceptible to the disease. To date however, fewer cases were reported in pregnant women than expected [2], unlike during the SARS and MERS pandemics there were fewer fatalities, and there is no evidence of vertical, intrauterine transmission from infected pregnant women to their fetuses [2,3]. From the few articles on the subject available for review, and with the available information from previous coronavirus pandemics, we can conclude that the virus can cause miscarriages, preterm birth, fetal and respiratory distress [4]. As the pandemic spreads, reports of severe respiratory failure are expected [5,6] and it is expected that pregnancies complicated by hypertension, diabetes, asthma, and obesity will require special attention, quarantine, isolation, and high care. From the limited information available, we can conclude that pregnancy did not affect the course of Covid-19 pneumonia [6] and this is our experience (unpublished data) with 2 pregnant women with no apparent predisposing conditions needing Intensive care at 27 and 26 weeks. Our two pregnancies are ongoing at the time of the publication and babies born to infected but not seriously ill mothers were asymptomatic and tested negative for Covid-19 (unpublished data). It appears that severe Covid-19 necessitating ventilation and multiple organ support could be associated with vertical transmission of the virus to the fetus. The good news is that newborn are seldomly testing positive for the virus, and infected newborns and children seem to have a mild course of the disease [7].

References

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Citation

Citation: Emeric P Frohlich. “Covid-19 and Pregnancy, What Should We and What Do We Know, So Far”. Acta Scientific Women's Health 2.11 (2020): 23-24.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2020 Emeric P Frohlich. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.