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CDC Issued An Urgent COVID-19 Health Advisory for Pregnant Women
On Wednesday, the CDC issued an urgent COVID-19 health advisory for pregnant women. The urgent health advisory is set to increase COVID-19 vaccination among people who are pregnant, recently pregnant (including those who are lactating), and who are trying to become pregnant. This health advisory is due to new data pointing to the extreme health risks of COVID-19 both to the pregnant woman and the child she is carrying.
The CDC health advisory “strongly recommends COVID-19 vaccination either before or during pregnancy because the benefits of vaccination for both pregnant persons and their infant far outweigh known or potential risks.” The vaccination decreases the risk of contracting the disease and prevents the risk of hospitalization by 10-fold in the general public. To date, there is no evidence of the vaccine causing infertility, miscarriage, or pregnancy loss.
Why Pregnant Women Should Be Vaccinated Against COVID-19
The CDC data points to nearly one in five pregnant women who contracted COVID-19 needed to be hospitalized. Of the 125,000 pregnant people who have been infected by the virus, more than 22,000 needed to be hospitalized. Pregnant women have a two-fold risk of requiring admission into an intensive care unit, and a 70 percent increased risk of death. 161 pregnant women in the U.S. have died from COVID-19; 22 of these deaths occurred in the last month.
In addition to these critical risks to the mother, there are significant risks to the newborn child as well. These increased risks include preterm birth, stillbirth, and admission into the Neonatal ICU.
Here in Massachusetts, there have been a number of cases of pregnant women needing to be hospitalized, put into the ICU, and at least 1 reported maternal death. If a pregnant woman is very ill, early delivery of the baby, even before 30 weeks, is sometimes necessary to improve the health of the pregnant woman.
CDC Director, Rochelle P. Walensky, M.D., M.P.H. has made the following statement, “Pregnancy can be both a special time and also a stressful time – and pregnancy during a pandemic is an added concern for families. I strongly encourage those who are pregnant or considering pregnancy to talk with their healthcare provider about the protective benefits of the COVID-19 vaccine to keep their babies and themselves safe.”
Contact Us
At Fertility Centers of New England, all of our physicians agree that becoming vaccinated prior to conceiving greatly improves the chances of a healthy mother giving birth to a healthy child. All women who are thinking about or attempting to conceive are strongly encouraged to get a COVID-19 vaccination.
If you have more questions about fertility or why the CDC issued an urgent COVID-19 health advisory for pregnant women, please contact us for a consultation.
