A new study has revealed pregnant women are at a higher risk for contracting COVID-19. Previous studies have given us a glimpse into how COVID-19 affects pregnancy, such as an increased risk of early labor for those who are pregnant and test positive for the virus.

As we continue to live in a world with coronavirus, we learn more about what it means for those who are pregnant and if they contract COVID-19. With more data being released, it is showing that pregnant women are at a higher risk of contracting COVID-19.

A study published this week in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology shows that pregnant women were infected with COVID-19 at an alarming rate. The pregnant women were in the state of Washington and became infected with the virus at a 70 percent higher rate than women of similar ages. A portion of the study also revealed that women who are not White carried a “disproportionate burden” of being infected, according to CIDRAP, or Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy.

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The research included 240 pregnant COVID-19 patients in 35 different healthcare systems from March 1, 2020 to June 30, 2020 in Washington. During this time, the state saw 61 percent of its annual births. It was estimated in the study that women “who delivered 13.9 of every 1,000 newborns had COVID-19,” CIDRAP reports.

Researchers compared this to state residents in ages 20 to 39, who totaled 7.3 of 1,000 newborns. However, the infection rate in pregnant women dropped after 45 COVID-19 cases were detected through asymptomatic screening. The rate fell to 11.3 per 1,000 cases.

While research continues to be studied, it did confirm what studies have already shown: Race influences the impact of coronavirus on pregnancy. The study out of Washington also covered how COVID-19 affects non-White racial/ethnic groups, saying those who are not white were at an increased risk of contracting the virus.

According to AJOG, or the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, women of non-White ethnicities were infected with COVID-19 two to four times higher “than the race and ethnicity distribution of women in Washington State who delivered live births in 2018.”

The AJOG also stated that during the early months of the pandemic, pregnant women were not protected from COVID-19, and the greatest burden of the virus occurred in nearly all racial/ethnic minority groups. Researchers say the new data suggests pregnant women should be prioritized for vaccine allocation.

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Sources: Center for Infectious Disease and Research Policy, American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology