Worrisome Maternal Mortality with COVID-19 Infection Save

Maternal and fetal outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic have not been well studied; yet a new retrospective study from Mexico indicates that during the pandemic maternal mortality increased by nearly 57%, with COVID-19 as the cause in 23% of cases.

This surveillance study examined maternal mortality was between February 2020–February 2021 in Mexico, with a focus on COVID-19 in pregnant women, and their outcomes.

Overall the maternal mortality ratio increased by 56.8% during the pandemic, with COVID-19 as the confirmed cause in 23% of cases, with possibly another 4.5% of deaths being unconfirmed. In those hospitalized pregnant women who died, common contributors were Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (from COVID-19), smoking, cardiovascular disease, asthma, immune impairment, diabetes and obesity.

They identified a 2.8% chance of death in pregnant women infected with COVID-19.  Both COVID-19 and pandemic collateral effects on healthcare pose a real rise to pregnant women and underscores the need for COVID-19 vaccination in women.

The American College of Ostetrics and Gynecology, along with the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine, have enthusiastically endorsed COVID Vaccination of pregnant women, given the delta variant, low vaccination rates (22%) in pregnant women and rising reports of poor COVID outcomes in pregnant women.