CDC Data Highlights Likelihood of Severe COVID-19 During Pregnancy

By Lindsay Carlton, Fact checked by James Lacy, November 09, 2020

“Immune function declines with pregnancy to allow the fetus— which is really a foreign organism—to live and thrive in the mother’s body. The body also has a diminished ability to fight off viral illnesses,” Kecia Gaither, MD, OB/GYN, MPH, director of perinatal services at NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln, tells Verywell. “The enlarging uterus pushes against the upper abdomen decreasing lung capacity. All of these factors converge to make pregnancy especially a precarious time during the pandemic.” Gaither adds that people with poorly controlled diabetes should be especially cautious, as research has shown that people with diabetes have an increased risk of worse outcomes if they get COVID-19.²

Click HERE for the full article.