Acta Scientific Women's Health (ASWH)(ISSN: 2582-3205)

Short Communication Volume 2 Issue 11

Covid-19 and Pregnancy, What Should We and What Do We Know, So Far

Emeric P Frohlich*

Sunninghill Hospital, Sandton, South Africa

*Corresponding Author: Emeric P Frohlich, Sunninghill Hospital, Sandton, South Africa.

Received: September 26, 2020; Published: October 16, 2020

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  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we can conclude that pregnancy did not affect the course of Covid-19 pneumonia [6] and this is our experience (unpublished data) with 2 pregnant women with no apparent predisposing conditions needing Intensive care at 27 and 26 weeks.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and babies born to infected but not seriously ill mothers were asymptomatic and tested negative for Covid-19 (unpublished data).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].

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References

  1. Dashraath P., et al. “Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and pregnancy”. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology 6 (2020): 521-531.
  2. Castro P., et al. “Covid-19 Pregnancy: An Overview”. Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia 7 (2020): 420-426.
  3. Schwartz DA. “An Analysis of 38 Pregnant Women with COVID-19, Their Newborn Infants, and Maternal-Fetal Transmission of SARS-CoV-2: Maternal Coronavirus Infections and Pregnancy Outcomes”. Archives of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (2020).
  4. Panahi L., et al. “Risks of Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) in Pregnancy; a Narrative Review”. Archives of Academic Emergency Medicine 1 (2020): e34.
  5. Alzamora MC., et al. “Severe COVID-19 during Pregnancy and Possible Vertical Transmission”. The American Journal of Perinatology 8 (2020): 861-865.
  6. Liu D., et al. “Pregnancy and Perinatal Outcomes of Women with Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Pneumonia: A Preliminary Analysis”. American Journal of Roentgenology 1 (2020): 127-132.
  7. Hong H., et al. “Clinical characteristics of novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in newborns, infants and children”. Pediatrics and Neonatology 2 (2020): 131-132.
  8. Covid-19 and pregnancy. Guideline: Coronavirus (COVID-19) Infection in Pregnancy”. British Medical Journal (2020): 369.
  9. Liang H and Acharya G. “Novel corona virus disease (COVID‐19) in pregnancy: What clinical recommendations to follow?”. Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica 4 (2020): 439-442.
  10. Frohlich EP. “The Covid-19 Lockdown, Ethics and Screening”. Integrative Gynecology and Obstetrics Journal 1 (2020): 1-2.
  11. Rajewska A., et al. “COVID-19 and pregnancy - where are we now? A review”. Journal of Perinatal Medicine 5 (2020): 428-434.
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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.




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