Pregnant women infected with Covid-19 are twice as likely to give birth to a stillborn child.
- The study reviewed more than 1.2 million deliveries between March 2020 and September 2021 in the United States.
- The risk of stillbirth was 1.47 higher for mothers who tested positive for Covid-19 during the pre-Delta period.
- After July 2021, where the Delta virus became dominant in the country, this risk was considered 4.04 times greater.
While health professionals recommend a third dose of vaccine for pregnant women, a large American study has assessed the risks between Covid-19 contracted in utero and the risk of stillbirth. Carried out by the US health authorities Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the study reviewed more than 1.2 million deliveries between March 2020 and September 2021 in the United States.
Over this period, 1.26% of births were a stillborn child for women who contracted Covid-19 (compared to 0.64% for the others). The CDC considers a child to be stillborn from the 20th week. According to the study, the Delta virus also increased this risk, after this variant became dominant in the country in July 2021.
Compared to uninfected women, the risk of stillbirth was 1.47 higher for mothers who tested positive for Covid-19 during the pre-Delta period. After July 2021, where the Delta virus became dominant in the country, this risk was considered 4.04 times greater.
No information on the vaccination status of women
If this research is the most consistent in gauging the risks between Covid-19 infection and the risk of stillbirth, the experts were not able to determine at what precise moment pregnant women contracted the virus (during their hospitalization or earlier in their pregnancy). The study also does not provide information regarding the women’s vaccination status.
“Further prospective studies are needed to confirm these findings, identify the biological mechanism for the increased risk of stillbirth seen with maternal Covid-19, and assess differences in risk by time and severity of infection and contribution maternal risk factors“, say the authors of the report.
According to a study published last November in the journal Cell Reports Medicine, Covid-19 can spread through the placenta and therefore reach the fetus. Once inside, the virus could proliferate there and infect nearby placental cells.
