Unvaccinated pregnant women with complications – CBS Denver

DENVER (CBS4) – Doctors at one of Colorado’s most skilled neonatal intensive care units are urging pregnant women to get vaccinated against COVID-19 to protect themselves, their babies and others, as rare incidents have raised concerns.

“We are so worried about our pregnant patients and the degree of severe disease that we can see,” said Dr. Bronwen Kahn, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist at Presbyterian St. Luke’s Medical Center and Obstetrix Medical Group of Colorado. “When women get sick with COVID, after about 24 to 26 weeks, the risk of pregnancy complications is higher. “

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The Presbyterian St. Luke’s Labor and Delivery Unit treats some of the most serious and rare cases of prenatal complications in the region. Many women are airlifted to Denver from surrounding communities for treatment.

Since the start of the pandemic, doctors have seen problems with preeclampsia in pregnant women who contract the coronavirus. It is estimated that between 10% and 15% of pregnant women who contract COVID become seriously ill.

Recently, Kahn and his team noticed a few more worrying cases.

“It appears to occur in women who have relatively mild maternal COVID disease, but who have placental disease or greater placental dysfunction. What they report is decreased fetal movement. When they got to the hospital, we found that their babies were having problems and looked pretty hypoxic, pretty sick, and their lab values ​​showed a really unusual set of changes in their coagulation system called DIC or disseminated intravascular coagulation, ”she said. .

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One thing that these rare cases have in common is that they happen to women who are not vaccinated. Kahn says about 30% of pregnant women nationwide are vaccinated.

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“We now also know that 177,000 women were vaccinated during pregnancy and while breastfeeding. There are no higher rates of miscarriages, premature deliveries after vaccination, hypertensive disorders or other pregnancy complications, and we also have very good evidence at this point that this vaccination does. not affect our fertility, ”Kahn said.

The PSL team is working to see if there are other rare cases of problems encountered in the past, and doctors are now on alert as more and more sick women come for treatment. The results could be published soon as there are likely more similar cases in the country.

Kahn says she just hopes these cases can serve as a warning for women, even at the end of their third trimester, to consider getting the vaccine.

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“I will say that immunization really helps a lot, and if there is one thing we can offer during antenatal care of a woman that is most likely to save her life and that of her baby, it is ‘help to feel confident enough to proceed with the vaccination and boosting. We also strongly encourage boosters. So if you are six months away from the Pfizer or Moderna vaccination or two months away from J&J then we encourage vaccination with one of the other mixes and combinations is now considered acceptable, ”she said.