Pregnancy & Coronavirus

This is an especially scary time for pregnant women. They are just as vulnerable, if not more than we all are, to the dangers of coronavirus.

“Pregnant women should be concerned about coronavirus just like anybody else,” said Robert O. Atlas, M.D., FACOG, Chair, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Mercy Medical Center. Dr. Atlas sees patients through The Family Childbirth & Children’s Center at Mercy.

According to Dr. Atlas, there's a much higher risk for poor outcomes if pregnant women get coronavirus.

“Some of the risks are not only to their health respiratory-wise, but there are a few case study reports of infants being exposed, they could have severe coronavirus disease and a few have died,” Dr. Atlas said, though noted those are rare cases.

Pregnant women are also concerned about how often they have to visit their doctor or even get ultrasounds. Consult your doctor on that; in many cases, telemedicine is the way to go.

“We're trying to move to telemedicine-type visits. We are working with organizations to get blood pressure cuffs out and diabetics can be seen with telemedicine,” Dr. Atlas said.

To view Mercy OB-GYN Dr. Robert Atlas’ interview with WBAL-TV11’s Lisa Robinson regarding pregnancy and coronavirus, click here.