The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
released a report Friday that examined 1.2 million deliveries in 736 hospitals
nationwide from March 2020 through September 2021.
Stillbirths were rare overall, totaling 8,154 among all
deliveries. But the researchers found that for women with COVID-19, about 1 in
80 deliveries resulted in stillbirth. Among the uninfected, it was 1 in 155.
Among those with COVID-19, stillbirths were more common in
people with chronic high blood pressure and other complications, including
those in intensive care or on breathing machines.
“These findings underscore the importance of COVID-19
prevention strategies, including vaccination before or during pregnancy,” CDC
researcher Carla DeSisto and co-authors said.
There’s no information on how many had received COVID-19
shots, although the authors noted that the U.S. vaccination rate among pregnant
people after delta emerged this past summer was 30%.
Pregnant people with COVID-19 are more likely than others to
develop severe, even fatal, illness and they face increased risks for preterm
birth and other complications. Previous studies on stillbirths and COVID-19 had
mixed findings, but the report bolsters concerns among obstetricians and
anecdotal data.
While the absolute risk for stillbirth is low, anyone who is
pregnant shouldn’t underestimate the dangers of COVID-19, said Dr. Mark
Turrentine, a professor at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. He helped
write the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists’ recommendations
for COVID-19 vaccination in pregnancy.
“What’s really sad is we have 10 months of a vaccine that’s
been highly effective and we just can’t convince people to take advantage of
this,” Turrentine said.
Some experts have speculated that the virus may cause
inflammation in the placenta or other abnormalities that could harm the fetus.
Dr. Joseph Biggio, a specialist in high-risk pregnancies at
Ochsner Health in New Orleans, said the study doesn’t prove that COVID-19
caused stillbirths. He said it’s possible some women were so critically ill
that physicians trying to keep them alive “couldn’t intervene on behalf of a
fetus that they knew was in trouble.”
The researchers relied on medical records, and they noted
that they were unable to determine if the COVID-19 diagnoses listed at the time
of delivery represented current or past infections.
Generally, stillbirths are more common among Black people,
those who become pregnant over age 35 or those who smoke tobacco during
pregnancy.
The study didn’t include pregnancy outcomes by race, an area
the authors said they plan to investigate in future research “because COVID-19
has disproportionately affected many racial and ethnic minority groups, putting
them more at risk of getting sick and dying.” -AP
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