It’s no secret that getting COVID while pregnant can pose additional risks. Doctors have been talking about it for some time, and warning pregnant women to be especially careful to reduce their risk of contracting the virus. Now, a new study shows that people who get COVID while pregnant have 15 times higher risk of needing a ventilator than those who aren’t pregnant during their illness.

That’s a sobering consideration for anyone who’s pregnant or who’s trying to conceive. The study looked at 13,000 pregnant people across 12 different studies and 12 countries, including the United States. Two thousand people had COVID, while 11,000 tested negative.

Pregnant people who tested positive needed to be on a ventilator at a rate 15 times higher than non-pregnant people with COVID, and being pregnant also meant they had a seven times higher risk of death. Unfortunately, the concerns for pregnant people who contract COVID don’t end with those risks.

There were also increased risks of high blood pressure, blood clots, pre-eclampsia, and other issues, while the babies often had lower birth weights and were born too early. Around three percent of pregnant people with COVID needed care in the ICU, but that’s a much larger number than non-pregnant people.

The results of the study weren’t completely unexpected, but they did re-emphasize the seriousness of contracting COVID during pregnancy. There are multiple reasons that pregnant people are more at risk, and the most important thing for anyone who’s pregnant or trying to conceive is to reduce their risk of catching the virus.

Being up-to-date on vaccines is one of the easiest ways to lower the risk of catching COVID, and to also lower the risk of serious complications if a pregnant person does happen to contract the virus. Getting vaccinated against the flu may also help, since it’s another type of respiratory illness. At the end of the day, the best thing pregnant people can do is follow their doctor’s advice.

In these unprecedented times, intended parents and gestational carriers are facing situations nobody imagined or planned for. While you cannot plan for every possible scenario, working with a skilled attorney can help protect you and your child through the surrogacy process. To learn more, contact The Surrogacy Law Center today.