Increased risk of ICU admission for unvaccinated pregnant women
Unvaccinated pregnant women can become seriously ill and even end up in intensive care due to the delta variant of the coronavirus. Professor of obstetrics Kitty Bloemenkamp already saw that happen this summer. Now that the number of infections in the region is skyrocketing, this is all the more reason for Kitty and her colleagues to stress the importance of vaccination at every consultation. Because the consequences of an ICU admission for mother and child are serious.
“If the mother has to be on the ventilator, we are usually also forced to have the child born prematurely. Everyone can imagine that this has a major impact on the family,” says professor of obstetrics Kitty Bloemenkamp. Children born under 32 weeks require 24-hour intensive care. They are admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). “At a very young gestational age, pregnant women can be ventilated abdominally to get a little further in pregnancy, but that also entails risks for the child. Moreover, a partner who has corona is often not allowed to be at the delivery so as not to compromise the safety of the care staff.”
High pressure due to birth wave and staff shortages
For some time now, the pressure on birth care has been very high. As a result, pregnant women cannot always be admitted to their preferred hospital. Kitty says, “That’s because on the one hand we have a high supply of pregnant women, a birth wave, and on the other hand we don’t have enough nurses available.” That often means puzzling with beds and staff to create enough room for all the possible admissions that are coming up. In the region, there is also intensive collaboration between all health care providers and agencies, including the birth care team of the ROAZ Midden Nederland, in order to spread deliveries over the various hospitals.
Vaccination for pregnant women effective and safe
Not only are there a lot of pregnant women, there are unfortunately also a lot of pregnant women with corona. So birth care is under increasing strain. Kitty therefore calls on every woman to get vaccinated if they want to have children or if they are pregnant. “Pregnant women are likely to have some fear of vaccination of course. That’s understandable. At the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, much was unclear, but we now know that vaccinating pregnant women is effective and safe. A serious course of the disease, ICU admission and premature birth can often be prevented by vaccination. Therefore, yet another call to pregnant women: ‘Get well informed and get the vaccine’. There is no evidence whatsoever that a coronavirus vaccine is dangerous to the mother and child. They both build up antibodies. Of course it is true that we do not know the long-term effects. But I don’t know the long-term effects on children of mothers who have had COVID-19 either.”
Provide good information about corona
Birth care means working together 24 hours a day to provide the best care for the sick woman and the sometimes premature baby. Proper information about the coronavirus is part of that. “Especially now it is important that we, as health care providers, provide good information to women with a desire to have children and pregnant women. About how high the risk is of getting infected, what the consequences are for mother and child if you get COVID-19, how effective the vaccine is, and whether there are any adverse effects of the vaccine. And if you ultimately decide not to be vaccinated, then at least adhere to the measures. Keep your distance, wash your hands often and stay at home when you have symptoms. In that way you avoid a lot of misery in this very special period of your life.”