More than a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, many basic questions about the virus have been answered, including how it spreads, how it responds to treatment, and how it affects the body. But even those lessons learned apply mostly to generally healthy people and those with the most common pre-existing conditions, and unknowns still abound for many population subsets—including pregnant women. Last month, however, a wide-reaching scientific paper published in JAMA Pediatrics found that pregnant women who test positive for the virus are indeed at a greater risk for many complications, including pre-eclampsia, severe infections, and medically-indicated preterm birth, than their COVID-negative counterparts. The research supports public health recommendations for pregnant women to be vaccinated against the virus. This week’s COVID update explores the team’s findings, with excerpts from an interview with Robert Gunier, an author on the study and an environmental health researcher with the
https://www.kvpr.org/sites/kvpr/files/styles/big_story/public/202105/Pregnant1.jpg