Had covid in pregnancy, worried about baby

[Greenleaves20]

Has anyone else had it during pregnancy? I got it 3 weeks ago when I was 8 weeks pregnant and I’ve still not recovered and feel very fatigued. I’ve been reading some research about SARS from 2004 which is a very similar virus and was quite shocked to see that two thirds of babies had growth restriction. From what I’ve read, there are other issues with babies born to mums with these sorts of viruses such as an increased risk of mental health problems etc and possibly problems with development of the baby. Obviously I accept that we don’t know enough about covid yet but that’s because we don’t have the data yet. We know quite a bit about how similar viruses affect babies so I don’t know why this information isn’t being shared so that people are better informed and can be monitored in pregnancy if needed. Is anyone else feeling worried about this?

As you say there isn’t much data yet, but what they do have isn’t showing any problems

scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5&q=Covid+birthweight&btnG=#d=gs_qabs&u=%23p%3DOHVd1wEGxN8J

There could be a less common effect, but if 2/3 of babies had growth problems then they’d know by now.

You will be checked at 12 weeks and again at 20, so they can pick up any growth concerns then. From what I remember they can’t do anything about growth at early stages.

This must be a worrying time for you, but there is very little the medics can do on top of the usual checks. Hope your health starts to improve soon. Exhaustion in early pregnancy is common so it will be hard to know if it’s Covid related.

@Greenleaves20 I can’t be 100 per cent as testing wasn’t available to me in March but id definitely been in contact with people that had been exposed to covid and my Nanna was also diagnosed with it so it is very likely. I lost all my taste and smell, I had a cough and was absolutely exhausted to the point I couldn’t shower. The exhaustion lasted for a good 4 weeks. I really hope you start to build up some energy very soon. It was very early in my pregnancy and I’m now 33 weeks. My baby is growing well. Sending you lots of positivity. x

@peakotter thanks, it’s mainly the uncertainty and lack of data that makes it worrying. Also found guidelines from RCOG which say ‘Although there is no evidence yet that FGR is a consequence of COVID-19, two-thirds of reported pregnancies with SARS were affected by FGR, so ultrasound follow-up seems prudent’. I just wonder how many people will be followed up. I’m don’t think the data will be available yet about babies with growth restriction as it takes several months to start trials and collect accurate data (having worked in clinical trials I know it’s a long process). So I guess I’ll just have to hope for the best!

@Newmummyxx it sounds like you did have it and I’m glad you’ve recovered and you and baby are doing well! Hopefully will be the same for me.

Similar to @Newmummyxx I think I had it in March all the classic symptoms and an unfortunate incident changing my sons nappy on my lap when it became clear I had no sense of smell!

I’m now 41 weeks and baby has been absolutely fine in all checks so far. Had a growth scan at 32 weeks and based on my measurements baby will be 8lbs+ so a really good weight! I’ll update you when baby decides to make an appearance x