Expectant mums fighting for life is a grim sight so easy to prevent, says consultant obstetrician PAT O’BRIEN

It is heartbreaking to see a pregnant woman fighting for her life in intensive care. But right now we are seeing just that – and, in some areas, more than at any point during this pandemic.

We don’t know why. It could be that the Delta variant hits pregnant women harder. More likely, it’s simply due to the fact that not even half of all pregnant women in the UK have had a jab.

If a pregnant woman is infected with Covid, she is twice as likely to end up in intensive care as a woman the same age who is not pregnant.

Often, the women we’re seeing are young and many are otherwise healthy. We may have no choice but to deliver the baby prematurely, in order to treat the mother. 

It is heartbreaking to see a pregnant woman fighting for her life in intensive care. But right now we are seeing just that – and, in some areas, more than at any point during this pandemic. (File image)

If a pregnant woman is infected with Covid, she is twice as likely to end up in intensive care as a woman the same age who is not pregnant. Often, the women we’re seeing are young and many are otherwise healthy. We may have no choice but to deliver the baby prematurely, in order to treat the mother. (File image)

And in these instances the baby ends up in neonatal intensive care, on a ventilator, also fighting for life. But the worst part is that we know all this could have been prevented – if only that woman had been vaccinated.

I know what an anxious time it can be. Women are always careful not to take any medicines, eat any foods or do anything that might harm their baby.

It’s absolutely right to want to do everything possible to protect the life growing inside you. But that’s precisely why it’s vital to get a jab.

A year ago, these vaccines were new and we didn’t have much information on them, particularly when it came to pregnancy. 

It is standard protocol not to include expectant mothers in early-stage trials and this is something the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists is calling to change. We believe this approach is wrong. It delays pregnant women getting access to life-saving medicines – as we have seen during the pandemic.

As it is, over the past year we’ve learnt a lot about the Covid vaccines, and we know they are safe.

More than 200,000 pregnant women from all over the world have been vaccinated. Here in the UK, there have been more than 55,000 – 4,000 in Scotland alone.

A year ago, these vaccines were new and we didn’t have much information on them, particularly when it came to pregnancy. (Posed by model)

These women have been monitored, and at no point has there been a concern for either mother or baby. There’s been no increased risk of miscarriage, and no impact on the growth of the foetus.

We also know that if a woman has the vaccine during pregnancy she develops antibodies and they cross the placenta, which means babies are born with a degree of protection against Covid.

Of the pregnant women admitted to hospital for treatment of Covid over the past two months, 98 per cent were unvaccinated, two per cent had had one jab, and none was fully vaccinated. Not one.

But I have sensed a shift in my patients. Most, once they’ve had the benefits explained, choose to have the jab. As I tell them, it is the right choice for their own health, and the health of their baby.

Pat O’Brien is vice president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.

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