Pregnancy is a special period in a woman's life. Even now that there is a new virus among us, may this period still be wonderful and above all SAFE!
Keep calm and follow all instructions issued by competent institutions for your safety.
We have collected for you some answers to the questions that are most likely to arise.
1. How can a pregnant woman protect herself from the coronavirus?
If you are pregnant, it is recommended to increase caution. Avoid locations with a large number of people, such as public transport, waiting rooms, shops... If you are at work, arrange to work from home.
If you notice symptoms of respiratory infections, if you have a fever, it is best to call a doctor as soon as possible, who will give you all the necessary information on how to proceed.
3. Are pregnant women more susceptible to infection and are they at greater risk of severe illness, morbidity or mortality from coronavirus compared to the general public?
"So far, there is no data on how infection with the new coronavirus affects pregnancy," they replied to NIJZ . Also at the World Health Organization WHO they emphasize that there is no greater risk of a more severe course of the disease for pregnant women.
Immune and physiological changes occur during pregnancy, which could make pregnant women more susceptible to respiratory infections, including the coronavirus. This also applies to the flu virus or any other respiratory infection.
4. Do pregnant women with coronavirus have an increased risk of pregnancy termination?
There is currently no information on this. Research are currently only available for cases of infection with other related coronaviruses [SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV], where in some cases the loss of a child has occurred. High fever in the first trimester of pregnancy is also thought to increase the risk of birth defects.
5. Is the mother's illness with the coronavirus during breastfeeding associated with a possible risk for the infant?
From research for now they did not obtain information that the child could be infected while breastfeeding, namely that the coronavirus was not detected in the mother's milk.
It is not yet known whether the new coronavirus can be transmitted from an infected mother to the fetus during pregnancy, or during and after childbirth. Research show that some pregnant women who had a respiratory infection during pregnancy were susceptible to preterm birth, and children who were born prematurely due to a respiratory infection had a lower birth weight.
One of the precautions is for pregnant women with a respiratory infection to give birth by caesarean section to reduce the risk of transmission of the infection from mother to child. But after the last ones research Cesarean section is performed only in exceptional cases.
Amniotic fluid, placenta, umbilical cord were tested, throat swabs were taken from newborns and breast milk from infected pregnant women, but so far no coronavirus has been found in any of the tested cases.
7. Is there a risk that the coronavirus could have any long-term health and development consequences for a pregnant woman or newborn?
There is currently no information on any health effects on babies exposed to the virus in utero or from infected mothers.
