LDH reports alarming increase in severe pregnancy outcomes due to COVID-19

SHREVEPORT, La. (KSLA) - The Louisiana Department of Health is reporting an alarming increase in severe pregnancy outcomes amid the fourth surge of COVID-19.

The state has had 14 severe COVID-19 pregnancy outcomes since mid-July. The Louisiana Department of Health says it resulted in six maternal deaths, and 10 infant deaths, and they reported all women involved were unvaccinated.

“What we tended to see with the Delta variant is it has impacted our pregnant populations very very hard, especially at the height of the Delta variant we had transfers from all over the state of pregnant woman who were in respiratory distress and significantly decompensating,” said Dr. Caitlin Busada associate program director of residency of obstetrics and gynecology at LSU Health Shreveport.

Today, the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention is strongly recommending getting vaccinated either before or during pregnancy. They say the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the known or potential risks, and pregnant or recently pregnant people are at higher risk of severe illness from Covid-19, because pregnancy causes changes in the body that could make it easier to get very sick from respiratory viruses like Covid-19.

Health experts say you are doing yourself and unborn child a favor by getting vaccinated.

“By getting vaccinated, it protects you from COVID. That would hopefully preclude the pregnancy to also carry to full term and us not have to do any emergent pre-term deliveries,” said Dr. Caitlin Busada, associate program director of residency of obstetrics and gynecology at LSU Health Shreveport.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says severe illness means that a person with Covid-19 may need hospitalization, intensive care, and a ventilator or special equipment to help them breathe.

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