Can Coronavirus Affect Pregnancy?
A Texas A&M clinical assistant professor shares what's known so far about COVID-19 and the risks to pregnant women.
While pregnant women are not at a higher risk of becoming infected by the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, they may be at higher risk of poor outcomes if they do get sick.
Dr. Hector Chapa, a clinical assistant professor at the Texas A&M University College of Medicine, says this is what research is currently saying about the risk of COVID-19 to pregnant women. He said if a woman has COVID-19, the virus does not seem to transmit to the child in utero.
After delivery, newborns remain at high risk, like with any viral condition, Chapa said.
“So if you are recently postpartum and suspect that you have COVID-19, it’s important that you separate yourself from the child and maintain proper hand hygiene just like everybody else,” Chapa said. “The truth is, this is a global pandemic, and we’re all learning about this very quickly and we’re doing the best that we can to keep everybody healthy. So it’s not ideal, but social distancing, proper hand hygiene, and honestly, for this time period, just really staying away is the best advice that we can give.”
