We live in a day and age where we often see pregnant women take on the world with sheer resilience and determination. Therefore, it's really important for pregnant women to take utmost care of themselves by eating well, exercising often and staying hydrated.
But the list of precautionary measures only begins here...
Although, pregnant people do not appear to be any more susceptible to the coronavirus infection than general public, pregnancy changes the immune system and the body's response to viral infections in general. During the COVID-19 epidemic, we viewed an initial drop in birth rates but reports have surged suggesting a reversal in this pattern. In fact, in the matter of developing countries, significant caution has been raised for an increased rate of unintended pregnancies. The basic disruption to access to family services in over 115 countries has been burdened over persisting concerns such as those of domestic violence, especially in a country like India. Herein, it is important to realise the kind of impositions this has not only on experiences of pregnancy but also on the young individuals who are to be born and raised in said environments.
Moreover, pregnant individuals with symptomatic COVID-19 may experience more adverse outcomes when compared to non-pregnant individuals and seem to face disproportionate adverse socio-economic consequences. High-income as well as low and middle-income countries alike have faced significant struggles. The virus has affected conceptual and perinatal wellbeing both directly, through contamination itself, as well as indirectly, by implication as an outcome of changes in medical services, social approach, or social and monetary conditions.
On the one hand, we view that the immediate and roundabout results of coronavirus on maternal wellbeing are interwoven. Intrauterine and breastmilk transmission, and the transference of the infection from mother to child during conveyance are improbable. The rules for work, conveyance, and breastfeeding for positive patients change, and this fluctuation has been linked with further vulnerabilities.
Lockdowns, on the other hand, continue to disrupt pre-birth care visits in amidst of otherwise and extensively placed stress on the medical care framework. What this leads to are the speculatively unsafe approaches being carried out with little proof in high and low/centre pay nations.
The social and financial effect of coronavirus on maternal wellbeing are well stamped. A high recurrence of maternal emotional well-being issues, like clinically important tension and wretchedness, during the plague, is accounted for in numerous nations. This probably mirrors an increment in issues, however, studies exhibiting a genuine change are deficient.
Aggressive behaviour at home have seemed to spike. Ladies have also been more powerless against losing their pay because of the pandemic than men, and working moms continue to battle with expanded childcare requests.
Though pregnancy and childbirth do not increase the risk of acquiring SARS-CoV-2 infection, it worsens the clinical course of COVID-19 compared to other women in the same age group. COVID-19 during pregnancy can lead to pre-eclampsia or eclampsia, which is an increase in the blood pressure of the mother, and the risk of cardiopulmonary arrest increases, especially if the infection occurs during the third trimester.
The common perception has been to avoid any drug or new interventions during pregnancy because two lives are affected — the mother-to-be and the embryo growing in her womb. Developmental and Reproductive Toxicology (DART) studies have been conducted for the m-RNA based COVID-19 vaccines. In several countries across the world, there are cases of young frontline workers, who were unknowingly pregnant at the time of vaccination, also indicating that the vaccine is safe for both the mother and the foetus. Based on the above two findings, the World Health Organisation has recommended the use of vaccines for pregnant women.
The vaccine can be taken anytime during pregnancy, including in the first trimester. If the pregnant woman gets a COVID-19 infection, no vaccine doses are required till she gives birth, even if she had already taken the first dose. She can take the second dose post-childbirth. All the vaccines in the national program are equally effective and safe as per the currently available national data. The minor side-effects too are similar, mostly mild, and stay for 1-3 days post-vaccination. These include slight pain at the injection site, mild fever, fatigue, etc.
Most newborns of people who had COVID-19 during pregnancy do not have the virus when they are born.
As an ending note, we'd like to remind all our readers:
To Wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds before holding or caring for your newborn. If soap and water are not available, use a hand sanitiser with at least 60% alcohol.
Wear a mask whenever you are within 6 feet of a newborn.
Current evidence suggests that breast milk is not likely to spread the virus to babies.
COVID-19 vaccination is recommended for people who are pregnant, breastfeeding, trying to get pregnant now, or might become pregnant in the future. You should always wash your hands with soap and water for 20 seconds before breastfeeding or expressing breast milk, even if you don’t have COVID-19.
About the Author:
Shivangi works as a Research Officer at Amirrah. She is currently pursuing her master's from the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), Delhi.
Other contributors:
We would like to give a special thanks to Saranya Biswas for supporting the research effort behind this article and to Twinkle Jaspal for her work as editor.
[Photo Credits (L to R): The NY Times, MedPage, Nature, The Guardian]
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