Doctors managing Covid-19 afflicted pregnant women should be more careful and adopt effective strategies to prevent or reduce risks to patients and fetuses, researchers have cautioned stating that such pregnancy is associated with adverse outcomes like preeclampsia, stillbirth, preterm birth and others,
“Our findings suggest that pregnant people with Covid-19 have an increased risk of high blood pressure, stillbirth and preterm birth. Their newborns are more likely to need intensive care. Pregnant people with severe COVID-19 symptoms have a particularly high risk of these complications,” said Dr. Nathalie Auger, Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health, University of Montreal, Montréal, Quebec, with coauthors.
Their study ‘The impact of Covid-19 on pregnancy outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis’ is published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) .
The researchers reached this conclusion after reviewing 42 studies involving 438 548 pregnant women from around the world to determine the association between SARS-CoV-2 infection and adverse pregnancy outcomes.
They found double the risk of preterm birth and a 50 per cent increased risk of cesarean delivery in pregnant women with symptomatic Covid-19 than in those with asymptomatic patients. Those with severe virus had a 4-fold higher risk of high blood pressure and preterm birth.
The reason for the increased risk of adverse outcomes is unclear, but could be because SARS-CoV-2 may lead to vasoconstriction and stimulate an inflammatory response affecting blood vessels.
The findings of this systematic review differ from prior findings from case reports and case series. “Our meta-analysis of recent good-quality cohort studies with comparative data does not align with these previous reviews, and provides clear evidence that symptomatic or severe Covid-19 is associated with a considerable risk of preeclampsia, preterm birth and low birth weight,” wrote the authors.
This is for the first time that the researchers have reached this conclusion. Prior to this study, though there were apprehensive that patients who may get infected with symptoms like high fever may increase the risk of birth defects, there was no evidence.