More risks for pregnant women in COVID second wave

In the past three months, 14 pregnant women have died in Kerala of COVID-related complications

The second wave of COVID-19 has been impacting pregnant women in the State quite adversely. A sudden increase in maternal deaths and a handful of near-miss mortality events among pregnant women in Kerala in the past three months following COVID-19 have sent alarm bells ringing, with obstetricians calling for close monitoring of all pregnant women contracting COVID-19. “In the initial days of COVID-19, we were apprehensive about its impact on pregnant women but it did not pose a serious risk. But in its second wave, COVID-19 has been very aggressive and its presentation so different that we have been losing many mothers unexpectedly. We are extremely worried,” V.P. Paily, a senior obstetrician and the State coordinator of Confidential Review of Maternal Deaths, a maternal death auditing process undertaken by Kerala Federation of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (KFOG), said. In the last one year from March, seven pregnant women in the State died of COVID-19. While some deaths were largely due to issues in advanced pregnancy, in some, COVID-19 aggravated underlying issues. However, this year, in the past three months alone, 14 pregnant women have lost their lives following COVID-related complications.