The Coronavirus has unfortunately surprised the whole scientific world worldwide. There was no way to treat many patients who arrived in conditions that were not always critical and the victims thus increased dramatically. Fortunately now, apart from vaccines, many more secrets are known about Covid-19 and we are moving accordingly.
One of the initial questions of great concern came from pregnant women: what were the risks to them and their baby.
At first, most doctors responded that pregnant women were not considered a risk group in the knowledge that such claims were not supported by strong studies. Certainly there was a substantial lack of evidence regarding risks but this did not yet mean full safety.
But now a thoughtful analysis by Nidhi Subbaraman for the prestigious journal Nature it can help to clarify many doubts and warns against the risk of contagion.
Observations in recent months indicate that pregnant women with COVID-19 are at increased risk of hospitalization and serious complications. This means that they are a risk group, contrary to what was said a year ago at the beginning of the pandemic. Obviously, the only fault of health professionals and the scientific world, if it is a fault, is that they have been taken aback by a new and devious virus.
There are three main questions to which the study answers.
The first, very encouraging result is that, after analyzing many samples of the placenta, the umbilical cord and the blood of infected mothers and babies, it seems clear that the transmission of Coronavirus from mother to fetus occurs only very rarely.
This data tells moms that they shouldn’t be worried about passing the virus to their baby.
The second problem concerns the treatments, more or less aggressive, adopted against Covid-19. Treatments that may or may not be used on a pregnant woman. This however is a false problem in that there is no doctor in the world who can ignore the delicacy of a patient of this type.
A third point, equally important, refers to the safety and efficacy of vaccination of pregnant women. Data is missing here and is missing due to an error in clinical trial planning. Pregnant women should have been included in these studies, although it must be understood that this would have entailed a difficult risk to manage.
But, beyond the clinical trials, the great medical experience obtained in recent months in the field of the pandemic can help and advises all future mothers, even if they may be exposed to complications if infected, to seek advice from their doctor before getting vaccinated. The potential side effects of the vaccine are nil compared to the risk of actually contracting the virus.
The real tips that emerge from the study are in conclusion: calm, patience, attention and above all vaccination.
And it is the same advice that can be given to the general population.
No specialist has recommended postponing pregnancy although this condition in the pandemic stage may have potential risks. Having children only when the world is “truly” safe means the probable extinction of the human race.