FILE - A pregnant woman is shown in this file image taken on Aug. 3, 2016. (Emily Michot/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images) Pregnant women with COVID-19 may be at a greater risk for common pregnancy complications that progress to something even more serious, according to a newly-published nationwide study.Complications during any pregnancy are common, including the development of high blood pressure or having other infections beyond COVID-19.
And while the overall risks are low, it’s also known that pregnant individuals are at an increased risk for severe COVID-19, compared to non-pregnant women.The study, led by maternal-fetal medicine specialist Dr.
Torri Metz at the University of Utah, aimed to expand on this research and found that pregnant individuals with COVID-19 were overall more likely to develop serious complications or die during pregnancy than those who weren’t infected.Metz said the research adds how "people who have SARS-CoV-2 really are at an increased risk of having those common complications progress to something more that can be life-threatening or really serious morbidity."Mild or asymptomatic infection was not significantly associated with increased pregnancy risks.The researchers analyzed medical records of more than 14,000 pregnant individuals treated at 17 hospitals across the U.S.
About 2,350 of these women tested positive for COVID-19 during pregnancy or within six weeks of delivery. The data was collected between March 1, 2020, and Dec.