COVID-19 & PREGNANCY

The COVID-19 pandemic has upended our lives and routines in innumerable ways. Whether it’s concerns about prenatal care, labor and delivery or transmitting the novel coronavirus to your unborn child, women are facing a host of new challenges and questions as you navigate pregnancy during a global pandemic.

Currently, there is no evidence to suggest that pregnant women are more likely to get COVID-19 than women who aren’t pregnant, although contracting COVID-19 during pregnancy might increase the risk for severe illness, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (link to CDC). However, even though researchers continue to investigate how COVID-19 may impact a fetus, many questions remain unanswered.

The CDC reports that some newborns have tested positive for COVID-19 shortly after birth, however, researchers cannot conclusively pinpoint when the newborns were infected — before, during or after birth.

References:

“Breastfeeding and Caring for Newborns.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/pregnancy-breastfeeding.html.