Important things pregnant woman should know about Covid-19

The current COVID-19 pandemic has sent many into a state of mental trauma. The ongoing pandemic has been particularly devastating for some specific subgroups of the world population. The COVID-19 public health crisis has raised concerns and worries amongst pregnant women. It is natural to be fearful about the possible impact of coronavirus on us, especially if we already have a specific medical condition such as hypertension or diabetes. Pregnant women are worried whether COVID-19 will have detrimental repercussions for their newborn infants. In order to live a stress-free life, it is important to be informed about what can be the potential impact of COVID-19 on pregnancy and the myths about coronavirus. 

Apart from being knowledgeable and informed, you can take precautionary steps such as availing health insurance plans which are coronavirus specific. For instance, Niva Bupa offers a family health insurance plan called Corona Kavach Plan which addresses the health liabilities caused by coronavirus.

What should pregnant women know about COVID-19? Have a look at the following facts:

1. Change in Immunity Level:

During pregnancy, women go through changes in their physiologic and immunologic mechanisms of their body. This transformation in bodily processes in pregnant women, affects the immunity system of their body. Hence, there is a chance that pregnant women might have decreased immunity levels to protect them against coronavirus infection. Low Immunity makes a person susceptible to viral respiratory infections. It is advisable that pregnant women reduce visits to the hospital as much as possible so that there is less chance of being contaminated by coronavirus.

2. Contamination from Mother to Baby:

Research findings indicate that coronavirus does not spread from mother’s blood to the infant’s body. Coronavirus is transmitted through respiratory droplets and not through blood. According to research, infants of COVID-19 infected mothers did not test positive for coronavirus. However, the sample size of the research conducted is small, and there is no universal conclusive evidence on whether the mother’s coronavirus infection gets transferred to the baby or not. In the very few cases where the baby of the coronavirus infected mother turned out to be COVID-19 positive, the possibility of post-birth contamination is also considered. In the limited research conducted, coronavirus was not found in samples of mother’s milk.

3. Possibility of Adverse Infant Outcome :

Very limited case studies have found out that COVID-19 positive mothers did give birth to babies with adverse outcomes such as preterm birth. However, no clear correlation between coronavirus infection in mothers and adverse infant outcomes has been established, due to lack of sufficient data. Even in the small number of reported findings regarding preterm birth observed by coronavirus infected mothers, it is not clear whether the birth defects were caused by maternal infection or not.

The fear of getting infected by coronavirus xe variant looms large on the delivery day of pregnant women. However, with some coronavirus related precautions, the chances of contamination can be minimised.

The following measures must be taken for securing the health of the mother and the baby in this pandemic:

1. Newborns and Pregnant women must be isolated from COVID-19 wards.
2. Minimise the time-period of the delivery procedure.
3. Take all precautions while transporting the baby from hospital to home.
4. Avoid the gathering of relatives and visitors around the delivery ward and OT.
5. Hospitals and Clinics must provide face masks, sanitizers, and PPE kits to pregnant women for all prenatal visits and the delivery day

Another way by which pregnant women can feel safe and secure is by taking benefit of health insurance plans, which cover maternity expenses. Family health insurance plans like Corona Kavach Plan offered by Niva Bupa are a good way for pregnant women to live a stress free life.