Advice for pregnant women, older people and others about travel during coronavirus outbreak

By Danielle Braff, March 7, 2020

According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, pregnant women are not at higher risk than the general population of falling victim to coronavirus. But it should be noted that very little is known about the coronavirus as it relates to pregnant women, the developing fetus or infants, said Kecia Gaither, director of perinatal services at NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln in New York City. What is currently known — and this information is continually evolving — is based on knowledge about previous coronavirus outbreaks (MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV) and the small number of covid-19 cases involving pregnant women. Since this is so new and unstudied, Gaither said that it’s still not completely known whether pregnant women may be more susceptible to the risk of disease acquisition (despite what the ACOG said) and associated death. It’s also unclear whether transmission to the fetus occurs, either via the placenta or through breast milk, Gaither said.

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