The South Korean health authorities on Wednesday confirmed the first fetus death due to the coronavirus. According to the release, a woman delivered a stillborn child four days after being infected with the virus.
First fetus death due to COVID-19
Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), South Korea’s Heath premier Heath authority on Wednesday confirmed the first case of fetus death due to COVID-19. According to the authorities, it was the first case in the country. The woman was 24 weeks along with her pregnancy and gave birth to the stillborn on Monday. After the birth, the fetus tested positive for COVID-19. The KCDA did not include the death in its total toll but the numbers are the highest since the beginning of the fourth wave in July 2021.
COVID-19 and its connection to pregnancy
The case is vital in getting a deeper understanding of the virus. After all, the SARS-CoV-2 was initially not associated with fetal deaths or connected with high risk for pregnant women. However, according to data from the US Centers for Disease and Prevention (CDC), pregnant women have nearly double the risk of dying due to covid. Between March 2020 and September 2021, the CDC discovered that 1.3 percent of children, born to covid positive women in the US were stillborn. However, stillborn babies born to women without covid was 0.6 percent.
Additionally, the newest CDC Morbidity and Mortality report highlight the higher risk faced by pregnant women. The report is based on two new studies. One highlights how the risk of the delta variant doubles the risk for stillborn children and the other, highlights the risk of death by five times. According to the studies, this is probably due to the reducing blood flow and increasing inflammation in the placenta. As these side effects make it difficult for the fetus to survive, the CDC is recommending pregnant women get vaccinated. Vaccinating can help in reducing the risk for infection, adverse outcomes, and even death.