Pregnant women who contract COVID-19 are at a higher risk for preterm births and other complications of pregnancy, a Bay Area study has found.
Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco analyzed all documented births in the state between July 2020 and Jan. 2021. They found that the risk of a "very preterm birth," occurring before the 32 week of pregnancy, is 60% higher for mothers who have been infected with coronavirus while pregnant.
According to the National Library of Medicine, infants born "very preterm" are at increased risk for death, medical complications and neurodevelopmental consequences.
"Our results point to the importance of preventative measures to reduce COVID-19 infection among pregnant people to prevent preterm birth, including vaccination," said lead author of the study, Deborah Karasek.
Many pregnant people in the United States have expressed vaccine hesitancy for fear that the vaccine will have adverse effects on their pregnancies.
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Karasek said it is critically important to have an open dialogue that values those concerns, describes evidence about safety and conveys the risks posed by COVID-19 infection during pregnancy.
On Wednesday, the CDC urged all pregnant women to get the COVID-19 vaccine as hospitals around the U.S. have reported disturbing numbers of seriously ill unvaccinated mothers.
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