How dangerous can a corona infection be during pregnancy? We clarify the risks for expectant mothers and unborn babies and whether a corona vaccination is an option for pregnant women.
“How dangerous is a Covid-19 infection for me?” – this is the question many pregnant women are asking themselves. At the beginning of the corona pandemic, it was said that pregnant women did not have a higher risk of contracting corona, but various studies have now come to the opposite conclusion. Canadian scientists from the University of Montreal have analyzed more than 400,000 pregnancies and found that pregnant women with Covid-19 are at higher risk of preeclampsia and preterm birth in the last trimester of pregnancy.
A British meta-studyshows, in turn, that pregnant women who have contracted corona have a higher risk of being treated in the intensive care unit and needing artificial ventilation than the comparison group of non-pregnant women of childbearing age.
There are also various risk factors that can cause a severe course of Covid-19 during pregnancy. This includes:
- Age over 35 years
- overweight
- chronic high blood pressure
- Diabetes
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Corona in pregnancy: The placenta usually protects the fetus from infection
The fetus is well protected in the placenta from a corona infection of the mother. Samples from the placenta, umbilical cord and blood from mother and child showed that the coronavirus will not always be passed on to the unborn child. It was only rarely possible to detect transmissions, according to the specialist website Nature . However, initial analyzes showed that in rare cases the virus can also attack the placenta, which in turn poses health risks for the foetus. In three of more than 1,700 pregnancies, the children were born with brain damage. Malformations in children caused by the mother being infected with SARS-CoV2 during pregnancy are not known, unlike the Zika virus or other pathogens.
Corona vaccination also for pregnant women?
So far, the Vaccination Commission of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) has not recommended corona vaccinations for pregnant women . “There is still insufficient experience on the use of the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines during pregnancy and breastfeeding,” it says officially. However, in individual cases, for example if the pregnant woman has previous illnesses or is exposed to a particularly high risk of infection, vaccination may be advisable.
Initial analyzes have found that a corona vaccination could protect mother and child from infection . Scientists from Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston have published a studycan see that the corona vaccination worked in pregnant and breastfeeding women and antibodies were formed. These have also been found in umbilical cord blood and breast milk samples. This means that the antibodies are also transmitted to unborn children in the womb. The scientists have not yet been able to determine whether the antibodies detected are sufficient to protect the baby from a Covid 19 infection.
This is the best way for pregnant women to protect themselves from a corona infection
If you suspect a corona infection, contact your gynecologist or the nationwide medical on-call service (telephone number 116 117). If you have only mild symptoms, recover at home and go into quarantine .
In order to protect themselves as best as possible from infection, pregnant women should adhere to the applicable hygiene rules (keep your distance, wear a mask and wash your hands frequently, sneeze and cough in the crook of your arm). Close contact persons of pregnant women belong to the second of the four vaccination groups and therefore have the opportunity to be vaccinated. Two contact persons may be vaccinated per pregnant woman. Important: In order to receive the vaccination, proof of pregnancy is required.