One in six critically ill pregnant women are unvaccinated with COVID-19 | Pregnancy

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New figures reveal that one in six patients who require the highest form of life-saving care on the NHS are unvaccinated pregnant women with Covid.

NHS England said that twenty of the 118 patients with Covid who received extra corporal membrane oxygenation (Ecmo) between July and September were mothers.

Of those, 19 did not get an injection while the other had a single dose of the vaccine.

NHS England released these statistics as part of a renewed effort to persuade pregnant women to fully vaccinate amid new evidence from doctors in Israel that the coronavirus can cause serious problems for the mother and her baby in the later stages of pregnancy.

The new data also underscores the additional risks facing unvaccinated people. Of the 118 men and women who took ekmo in those three months, 107 were not vaccinated, four received only one dose, and only seven were fully immunized.

“This is another stark reminder that the blow of Covid-19 can keep you, your baby and your loved ones safe and out of hospital,” said Jacqueline Dunkley-Bennett, chief midwifery officer at NHS England.

“You can be vaccinated at any time during pregnancy, but the risks for unvaccinated pregnant women to become very unwell if they contract Covid-19 explains exactly why you are advised to do so as soon as possible.”

Pregnancy and women’s health experts, and NHS leaders and ministers have expressed concern about the number of pregnant mothers who have not been immunized, amid unfounded fears – fueled in part by anti-vaccination activists – that exposure to stabbing could harm the mother or the mother. child or both.

Those treated with Ecmo often failed to respond after being put on a ventilator. During this process, blood is extracted via a heart-lung machine, carbon dioxide is removed, oxygen is added and then the treated blood is returned to their bodies in a last-ditch effort to help them restore lung function and breathe themselves over and over.

Dr Edward Morris, president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, has endorsed NHS England’s call for all pregnant women to get the full vaccination as an urgent priority.

The move comes as new, peer-reviewed evidence published Monday in the journal Maternal-Fetal and Neonatal Medicine shows that pregnant women with Covid-19 are more likely to develop gestational diabetes, low white blood cell counts, and shortness of breath during pregnancy. And yet. Birth.

The disease can also increase the risk of newborns having difficulty breathing, according to a study of 2,471 women conducted by Dr. Elior Eliasov of Mayanei Hayeshua Medical Center in Israel. “Our findings support the importance of vaccinating all pregnant women at all stages of pregnancy,” he said.

Responding to Ecmo’s figures, Sarah McMullen, director of impact and engagement at parenting charity NCT, said: “The news that unvaccinated pregnant women now make up nearly 20% of the most critically ill Covid patients in England is a strong indictment of the lack of attention given to these Vulnerable group with easing restrictions.

“It is quite understandable that pregnant women have questions and hesitations about vaccinations. We have been very disappointed to hear so much misinformation and confusion about the vaccination program and so little focus on what is needed to keep vulnerable groups safe as restrictions are eased.”

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