Planning pregnancy during Covid 19

Current evidence suggests that pregnant mothers with COVID-19 are at a slightly increased risk of becoming severely unwell compared to non-pregnant women

Your mental health is as important as your baby’s well-being, so try your best to stay calm and sail through difficult times

Pregnancy is a blessed time for a woman and her family and planning for a healthy pregnancy takes so much of positive thoughts and work. This entire process, during the pandemic can be quite stressful, due to various contradictory information that’s circulating, which can create a major impact on a couple’s decision to go ahead with a pregnancy or delay it until the storm settles.

So, to get your problems sorted out and frequently asked questions answered we thought of getting expert advice from Dr Suranga Hettipathirana, Consultant Gyaenocologist and Obstetrician.

“At a time when the 4th of Covid 19 is seeing a green light towards a sustainable control, getting adopted to the new normalcy seems to be extremely important in order to progress as a nation. Sometime back we adviced couples to postpone their pregnancy plans until hard times pass, but the time has come to return to normal ways of living, while sticking to effective safety measures” explains Dr Hettipathirana.

Pandemic and pregnancy
Pregnant women are included in the list of people at moderate risk for Covid 19 as a precaution. This is because a pregnancy can alter the way your body handles severe infections which may create a comparatively bad outcome if affected. So, it is always better to stay away from the virus rather than get exposed and face dangerous consequences.

Current evidence suggests that pregnant mothers with COVID-19 are at a slightly increased risk of becoming severely unwell compared to non-pregnant women, particularly during the third trimester, which in turn increases the number of hospital admissions towards the last few weeks.

Vaccination during pregnancy
“As far the latest studies suggest vaccination for Covid-19 is recommended during pregnancy. In fact, all the vaccines available at present are proven to be carrying minimal risk in pregnant mothers. You can get vaccinated against COVID-19 if you’re pregnant or aged 18 or over and receiving two doses of the vaccine is the safest measure you can think of, to get both you and your baby protected from the pandemic,” Dr Hettipathirana underscores.

Sticking to basics a must
He further emphasised on the importance of sticking to certain action plans in order to achieve a healthy pregnancy.

-Start taking Folic acid. Certain risk groups may need higher doses of this supplement so get advice from a doctor before commencing.

-Attend to the routine clinics and scans, unless you have been advised not to. This should be done while taking all the safety precautions against Covid 19 which include, social distancing, face-masks, hand washing and health care advices and isolation when necessary.

-If you are on medicine for other ailments, make sure to stay compliant in order to keep yourself immunity-wise strong enough so that unnecessary hospital admissions which can expose you to infected people, can be avoided.
-Stay active and engage in regular exercises.

-Ensure a balance diet.
-Mobilize yourself and stay hydrated to reduce the increase risk of blood clots in pregnancy.
-Seek immediate medical advice if you start noticing any symptoms related to Covid 19 or if you have any concerns regarding you or your baby.
-Your mental health is as important as your baby’s well-being, so try your best to stay calm and sail through difficult times. Do not be reluctant to seek help if your emotional disturbances start affecting the quality of your life in a significant manner.