COVID-19

=== Pregnancy response ===

There are many unknowns for pregnant women during the COVID-19 pandemic. Given that they are prone to have complications and severe disease infection with other types of coronaviruses, they have been identified as a vulnerable group and advised to take supplementary preventive measures.<ref name="Wastnedge_2021">{{#invoke:cite journal||vauthors=Wastnedge EA, Reynolds RM, van Boeckel SR, Stock SJ, Denison FC, Maybin JA, Critchley HO  |date=January 2021|title=Pregnancy and COVID-19|journal=Physiological Reviews|volume=101|issue=1|pages=303–318|doi=10.1152/physrev.00024.2020|pmc=7686875|pmid=32969772}}</ref>

Physiological responses to pregnancy can include:
* Immunological: The immunological response to COVID-19, like other viruses, depends on a working immune system. It adapts during pregnancy to allow the development of the foetus whose genetic load is only partially shared with their mother, leading to a different immunological reaction to infections during the course of pregnancy.<ref name="Wastnedge_2021" />
* Respiratory: Many factors can make pregnant women more vulnerable to hard respiratory infections. One of them is the total reduction of the lungs' capacity and inability to clear secretions.<ref name="Wastnedge_2021" />
* Coagulation: During pregnancy, there are higher levels of circulating coagulation factors, and the pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2 infection can be implicated. The thromboembolic events with associated mortality are a risk for pregnant women.<ref name="Wastnedge_2021" />

However, from the evidence base, it is difficult to conclude whether pregnant women are at increased risk of grave consequences of this virus.<ref name="Wastnedge_2021" />

In addition to the above, other clinical studies have proved that SARS-CoV-2 can affect the period of pregnancy in different ways. On the one hand, there is little evidence of its impact up to 12 weeks gestation. On the other hand, COVID-19 infection may cause increased rates of unfavourable outcomes in the course of the pregnancy. Some examples of these could be foetal growth restriction, preterm birth, and perinatal mortality, which refers to the foetal death past 22 or 28 completed weeks of pregnancy as well as the death among live-born children up to seven completed days of life.<ref name="Wastnedge_2021" /> For preterm birth, a 2023 review indicates that there appears to be a correlation with COVID-19.<ref>{{#invoke:cite journal ||last1=Digby |first1=Alyson M. |last2=Dahan |first2=Michael H. |title=Obstetrical and gynecologic implications of COVID-19: what have we learned over the first two years of the pandemic |journal=Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics |date=12 January 2023 |volume=308 |issue=3 |pages=813–819 |doi=10.1007/s00404-022-06847-z|pmid=36633677 |pmc=9838509 }}</ref>

Unvaccinated women in later stages of pregnancy with COVID-19 are more likely than other patients to need very intensive care. Babies born to mothers with COVID-19 are more likely to have breathing problems. Pregnant women are strongly encouraged to get [[COVID-19 vaccine|vaccinated]].<ref>{{#invoke:Cite web|| vauthors = Campbell D | title=One in six most critically ill NHS Covid patients are unvaccinated pregnant women | website=The Guardian | date=10 October 2021 | url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/oct/11/one-in-six-most-critically-ill-patients-are-unvaccinated-pregnant-women-with-covid | access-date=25 January 2022 }}</ref>