Last week, a London baby became the second newborn to test positive for the novel coronavirus. Days previously, the baby’s mother entered the hospital suffering from what she believed to be a case of pneumonia. The mother subsequently tested positive for the coronavirus. After birth, the baby was tested and removed to an isolation room, and its mother was transferred to a hospital for special infections. The prognoses of mother and child are unknown, as are when and how the newborn contracted the illness.
The developing story illustrates the limited knowledge of the effects of COVID-19 for pregnant women and their children. As a pregnant woman, it has fueled my resolve to continue distancing myself socially as the number of coronavirus cases grows around the United States and in my home state of Michigan.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that pregnant women have had a “higher risk of developing severe illness” from viruses similar to the coronavirus. The CDC mentions preterm birth as a possible outcome of COVID-19. It previously linked similar viruses, SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV, with possible pregnancy loss, the University of Utah Health cites in a post from early March about the coronavirus and pregnancy. The chief of medicine at University of Utah Health, Erin Clark, elaborated further that pregnant mothers who “get really sick … are at increased risk for preterm birth, low birth weight and pregnancy loss.”
Loss of pregnancy is clearly a devastating outcome for an expectant mother. Preterm birth can likewise be serious. In a 2017 interim update on preterm infant outcomes, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists wrote that “delivery before 23 weeks of gestation typically results in neonatal death.” A 2017 study indicated that infants born at 24 weeks saw a 55% rate of survival, with 32% surviving “without evidence of neurological impairment at 18-22 months of corrected age.”
The March of Dimes further outlines the complications associated with babies born before 37 weeks gestation. These include issues with “brain, lungs, heart, eyes, and other organs” and may also involve “intellectual and developmental disabilities.” While outcomes improve with each additional week of gestational age, they do not reflect the outcomes of babies born with the coronavirus.
On March 10, Michigan reported its first two cases of the coronavirus. The following day, I reached my 23rd week of pregnancy. While my son’s robust kicks remind me of his increasing strength, I know that his future is tied to his ability to remain in the womb. Without adequate data on pregnancy and COVID-19, I calmly and rationally took the following three days to stock up on groceries and finish gathering the items my family will need in the weeks to come. Though my husband does not have the ability to work from home, my daughter and I have the luxury of socially distancing ourselves and have taken up the practice.
With 3,602 known COVID-19 cases in the U.S. as of Monday morning, numerous schools and public spaces are closing or taking increased safety precautions. Still, not everyone is embracing the importance of social distancing. Humorous memes about toilet paper and hand-washing flood social media, bringing needed levity but sometimes drowning out important information about protecting at-risk groups, including those with heart disease, diabetes, some cancers, chronic lung disease, and high blood pressure; adults over the age of 60; and those with diseases such as cystic fibrosis and lupus.
The U.S. has not begun to experience the full harm of the coronavirus. Italy, which saw its first two cases of the coronavirus on Jan. 30, has over 24,747 known cases of the coronavirus as of Sunday. On March 15, the single-day death toll from the disease reached a new high of 368, with 1,809 total deaths in the country.
I applaud the many people who are hunkering down to flatten the curve and limit the spread of the coronavirus. I join them to protect vulnerable populations. Because of the limited but evolving information about pregnancy and COVID-19, I include my unborn son among their numbers.
When I became pregnant, I anticipated abstaining from good beer and endless cups of full-caffeine coffee. I knew I would watch my weight increase and my running endurance decline for nine months of pregnancy and beyond. I did not expect COVID-19 or its accompanying hysteria over stockpiling toilet paper and other goods. However, social distancing is a small price to pay to protect the viability and health of my unborn child. I will gladly take extra precautions to avoid the reality faced by a mother in London, of an infection with an unknown prognosis separating me from my newborn immediately following his entry into the world.
Beth Bailey (@BWBailey85) is a freelance writer from the Detroit area.
