Coronavirus and pregnancy

[Laur89]

Hey all,

I am currently 18 weeks pregnant and also have a 22 mo. My dh and I are currently on furlough and probably will be for a while longer.

It feels like people (or maybe just the media?) seem to be moving on from the concerns of the virus. Like everyone has been about their families - I am naturally protective of my unborn baby and my 22mo, we disinfect everything that comes into the house, we do click and collect as much as possible and we have only seen family twice and that was out in the parks at quiet times.

The government seem to be focused on getting the economy back on track and that is great for many reasons but i can't help but feel lost and confused about what to do in terms of keeping safe. After all, the virus hasn't gone and won't for some time.

Everyone has seen the photos of people on the beaches, people protesting in huge groups and people who have gone back to work and seem to be getting to a new normal.

My question is - is it time to start to relax a little? Even whilst pregnant?
What's everyone else's views on life now?
It would be nice to hear how everyone is getting on and your views!

[Natalie654321]

I am 18 weeks pregnant and have an 11 month old.
I have been taking it in turns to go to the supermarket as I haven't been able to get an online shop... I figured if he gets it I will get it too so am no more at risk by going myself.
I will be working from home for the foreseeable future.
I have started to see family socially distantanced.
As previous posts have said, it's not going away any time soon and I don't want to spend the whole of my pregnancy in doors and seeing no-one.
I won't be sending my daughter in nursery until the very earliest September.
I guess for me it's just a balance, wash hands, wear a mask, keep distant but still have some sort of life xx

[firstbabybell]

@foreverbaffled please can you share the information you mentioned about placental damage due to inflammation?

I also work in mental health & work have been great allowing me to WFH. I'm 15 weeks with first, IVF & long awaited pregnancy & will be shielding as much as possible through the whole thing. It's a daunting prospect.

For those who are interested, RCoG have based a lot of their guidance on the results of the study below - link is to summary. Full article is linked at the bottom of the page.

www.ox.ac.uk/news/2020-05-12-pregnant-women-are-not-greater-risk-severe-covid-19-other-women

[Foreverbaffled]

Hi @firstbabybell, here is a link to the article. Apologies I meant to write damage as a result of a the mother’s immune response rather than inflammation. The small sample of placentas showed evidence of damage and thrombosis:

academic.oup.com/ajcp/advance-article/doi/10.1093/ajcp/aqaa089/5842018

I found the expert reaction to this article hugely reassuring, however I think it’s best to err on the side of caution:

www.sciencemediacentre.org/expert-reaction-to-study-looking-at-placentas-from-covid19-positive-pregnant-women/

[firstbabybell]

Thanks so much @foreverbaffled, will take a look. 👍🏼

All the evidence so far does seem to be reassuring however RCoG state near the start of their guidance for employers that they still can't guarantee that COVID does not present a risk to pregnant women & their unborn babies that is over & above that faced by non pregnant women. Huge arse covering there from them! 😂

[Foreverbaffled]

@firstbabybell, absolute arse covering but I would say that the stats do look really encouraging. My anxiety has gone down massively in the last month thanks to big published studies like the UK one.

If you’re interested in keeping up to date with the literature I’d recommend checking our Dr Jim Thornton’s blog. He is collating all articles as they are published (often daily):

ripe-tomato.org/2020/03/22/covid-19-in-pregnancy/

[Superscientist]

I think it is a tad unfair to call it arse covering, they have been suitably cautious whilst they assess risk. We are lucky and it does appear that the risks are minimal. It is a virus that has only existed for 6 months, the risks of birth complications are small so it can take time to determine if there is an increase risk or not. My grandmother contract rubella when she was expecting my uncle, he was born with a congenital heart defect as a result and died aged 9 after many operations and a life in and out of a hospital. It wasn't long ago that the Zika virus was causing birth defects. It is good that the research is showing that there is unlikely to be an increased risk but I'm glad they have taken a cautious approach.

[Foreverbaffled]

@Superscientist I agree. It’s great they are being cautious and I actually do respect their approach. I think I meant they are just covering all bases really which is appreciated.

[firstbabybell]

@foreverbaffled thanks so much, just followed him on Twitter. Seems like he knows what he's talking about!
This is exactly the sort of info we need to be arming ourselves with.

[firstbabybell]

@superscientist sorry if I've offended you. I'm with @foreverbaffled, obviously I would rather they are cautious. I think my point was that despite all the evidence saying everything's fine, go to work, they clearly aren't actually able to say that as it's so new.

I'm sorry about what happened to your grandmother & uncle.

[Superscientist]

Don't worry I wasn't offended. We are very privileged to live in a country where there is a low risk of catching a virus that can harm the unborn but that is mostly because it's rare for a new viruses and illnesses in general to make it over here but that's not always been the case. It is easy to say they are being over cautious once the risk has been found to be negligible.
Screening is better these days but we do need to remember that currently it is only women who contracted covid 19 later in their pregnancy that have given birth the rest are still pregnant. Scans will pick up some things but not everything. I've not seen much mainstream coverage but those that are recovering from serious covid 19 infections (everyone not pregnant) have a long recovery with potentially long term organ damage. Not dying from covid doesn't mean all is ok. I'll hop off soapbox now!!