There is little data available on how the coronavirus, which causes a respiratory illness known as COVID-19, affects pregnant women. Women experience physiological changes during pregnancy that can weaken their immune systems and place them at higher risk for severe complications if exposed to viruses, especially if they have underlying health conditions.
Past studies have shown that pregnant women who contract influenza are at higher risk for severe complications, and in 2009, women who contracted H1N1 — the swine flu — during pregnancy also became sicker than non-pregnant women.
Still, doctors said that researchers have not seen early signals suggesting an increased risk of complications or birth defects associated with pregnant women and fetuses exposed to the coronavirus.
“Pregnant women can become severely ill, but I think pregnant women should be reassured as there doesn’t seem to be related birth defects like we saw with Zika,” Jamieson said during a phone call last week. “These are scary times, and I think a lot of people, including pregnant women, are afraid. Luckily this is not a virus that seems to disproportionately affect pregnant women. They can take solace in that.
”In a recent study published in the Lancet, researchers followed nine pregnant women who had tested positive for the novel coronavirus in Wuhan, China — the epicenter of the outbreak — during their third trimester. Researchers found that none of the infants, all delivered via caesarean, had the virus at birth. There also was no evidence of the virus in the mothers’ breast milk, cord blood or amniotic fluid, according to the study.
While the virus has not been detected in breast milk, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it’s still not clear whether the virus can be transmitted to infants during feedings. The CDC recommends infected mothers wash their hands before touching their babies and wearing a face mask, if possible, while breastfeeding. Another option is having a healthy person feed expressed breast milk to the infant. Health officials are urging pregnant women, along with the elderly and others with weakened immune systems, to do their best to avoid exposure to the coronavirus. Doctors suggest staying home as much as possible, avoiding crowds — including long lines at supermarkets and other stores — and staying away from emergency rooms. And, of course, frequent hand washing.