Pregnant or recently pregnant women who test positive for Covid-19 appear less likely to show symptoms of fever and muscle pain, but are at risk of being admitted to intensive care units, according to a new study published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ).
Conducted by researchers from various institutions in Europe and China, the study also found that pregnant women with Covid-19 are at increased risk of preterm birth and their babies are at risk of being admitted to a neonatal unit, although the overall rates of spontaneous premature births are not high.
“Symptoms of fever and myalgia associated with Covid-19 appear less often in pregnant and recently pregnant women than in non-pregnant women of childbearing age. Pregnant or recently pregnant women with Covid-19 appear to have increased risk of requiring admission to an intensive care unit or invasive ventilation, “according to the researchers.
Older, overweight women with chronic conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure and kidney failure may also have a higher risk of developing a severe form of the disease, say the researchers, who looked at 77 studies of 13,118 pregnant and recently pregnant women with Covid-19 and 83,486 non-pregnant women of childbearing age also with Covid-19.
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