Pregnant women with coronavirus are FIVE TIMES more likely to be hospitalized, new CDC report finds

Pregnant women with coronavirus are FIVE TIMES more likely to be hospitalized and 1.5 times more likely to end up in ICUs compared to other women, new CDC report finds

  • More than 31% of pregnant women were hospitalized compared to 6% of non-pregnant women, putting mothers-to-be at a five times greater risk
  • About 1.5% of pregnant women were transferred to ICUs compared to 0.9% of those who weren’t pregnant
  • Around 0.5% of expectant mothers were placed on ventilators in comparison with 0.3% of non-pregnant women
  • Minority women were more likely to be infected with the breakdown being 46% Hispanic, 22% black and 23% white

Mothers-to-be infected with the novel coronavirus are more likely to wind up in hospitals and intensive care units that non-pregnant women, a new report finds.   

Pregnant women were five times more likely to be hospitalized, researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed on Thursday.

They were also more than 1.6 times more likely to be transferred to ICUs or be placed on ventilators. 

However, pregnant women with COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, did not have higher fatality rates. 

Researchers also found that expectant minority women, particularly black and Hispanic, were disproportionately affected by the pandemic.

More than 31% of pregnant women were hospitalized compared to 6% of non-pregnant women, putting mothers-to-be at a five times greater risk. Pictured: A pregnant woman takes part in the feast of Saint John the Baptist’s Day in San Agustin, Venezuela, June 24

About 1.5% of pregnant women were transferred to ICUs (left) and 0.5% were placed on ventilators (right) compared to 0.9% and 0.3% of non-pregnatn women, respectively

About 1.5% of pregnant women were transferred to ICUs (left) and 0.5% were placed on ventilators (right) compared to 0.9% and 0.3% of non-pregnatn women, respectively

As of June 23, nearly 10,000 pregnant women have been diagnosed with COVID-19 in the US, according to the CDC.

Most have been between ages 25 and 34, and 26 of the women have died.

‘The emerging data on the increased risk of more severe illness among people who are pregnant is something that has become more visible as we have increasing numbers of cases occurring,’ Dr Jay Butler, the CDC’s Deputy Director for Infectious Diseases, told reporters during a media call on Thursday.

‘I would anticipate that we’ll get more granularity on our understanding of the degree of risk as we continue on and we have additional data.’

For the report, the researchers looked at more than 8,200 pregnant women who tested positive for the virus to more than 83,000 infected non-pregnant women.

More than 31 percent of the mothers-to-be were hospitalized compared to six percent of non-pregnant women. 

This means pregnant women are at a five times greater risk of needing to be admitted to the hospital.  

Results showed 1.5 percent of pregnant women were transferred to ICUs compared to 0.9 percent of those who weren’t pregnant. 

Additionally, 0.5 percent of pregnant women were placed on ventilators – a 1.6 times greater risk than 0.3 percent of non-pregnant women also placed on the machines.

Minority women expecting babies also seemed to be especially susceptible to contracting COVID-19.

Results showed that of the coronavirus infected pregnant women, 46 percent of Hispanic, 22 percent were black, and 23 percent were white.

This is in stark comparison to the data of women who gave birth in the US last year, of whom 51 percent were white, 24 percent were Hispanic and 15 percent were black. 

The researchers say the report comes with limitations such as unclear data about how many women were hospitalized due to being in labor. 

But, they add that physicians and other healthcare providers need to make sure pregnant women know how dangerous the virus is and measures on how to prevent infection. 

‘Pregnant women might be at increased risk for severe COVID-19 illness. To reduce severe COVID-19–associated illness, pregnant women should be aware of their potential risk for severe COVID-19 illness,’ the authors wrote.

‘Prevention of COVID-19 should be emphasized for pregnant women and potential barriers to adherence to these measures need to be addressed.’

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk