Mums-to-be are seven times more likely to give birth prematurely if they contract Covid late in their pregnancy, warns a new study. Researchers found that Covid-19 is associated with an increased risk of preterm birth, but only for women infected in their final trimester.
They advised women who are 34 or more weeks pregnant to wear masks and social distance to reduce the risk of infection. The study of more than 5,000 pregnant women is one of the first to look at pregnancy outcomes for Covid patients by trimester.
However, the Israeli research team found no difference in the chances of losing a baby between infected and non-infected women. Previous studies of Covid during pregnancy have been small, generally limited to patients who are in hospital, and have often not reported outcomes depending on infection during different stages of pregnancy.
