Doctor discusses risks of COVID-19 for pregnant women and their babies after new report from CDC
The report said pregnant women are more than three times more likely to die compared with non-pregnant women of the same age.
The report said pregnant women are more than three times more likely to die compared with non-pregnant women of the same age.
The report said pregnant women are more than three times more likely to die compared with non-pregnant women of the same age.
Pregnant women and their babies are at an increased risk of severe outcomes from COVID-19, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The report said pregnant women are more than three times more likely to die compared with non-pregnant women of the same age.
There is also a new warning about the delta variant. The rate of stillbirths climbed dramatically among pregnant women who got sick with it.
Right now, 35% of pregnant women in the United States are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
Sister station WTAE spoke with a doctor at Allegheny Health Network's West Penn Hospital in Pittsburgh about the things he's saying to his pregnant patients about the vaccine.
Dr. Michael Aziz, a maternal-fetal medicine physician, said some patients are under the impression COVID-19 is not very dangerous, especially if you're young and don't have a lot of other health problems.
Aziz was quick to point to his patients at West Penn Hospital that when you're pregnant, your immune system is suppressed. He said that's why pregnant women are at a higher risk for severe adverse outcomes if they get COVID-19.
"We have seen patients who get the delta variant are even more likely to end up in the intensive care unit, even more likely to require oxygen supplementation, more likely to have an early baby and more likely to have a stillborn baby, unfortunately," Aziz said.
Aziz said the delta variant is much more infectious and the higher viral loads mean it's more infective and more transmissible, which means you can also get sicker with the delta variant.