Israel: Worrying Increase In Pregnant Women In Serious And Critical Condition From COVID-19

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — At least nine pregnant women have been hospitalized over the past week in Israel due to deterioration in their condition after being infected with COVID-19. Four of the women have undergone premature delivery of their babies in order to provide better care for them.

Doctors at Beilinson hospital are fighting to save the life of Rachel, a 33-year-old woman who was hospitalized in very serious condition. Another 35-year-old pregnant woman was also transferred to the same hospital in critical condition. Four more women were hospitalized in Maayanei Hayeshua hospital in Bnei Brak and all required breathing support. At Tel Hashomer, Hadassah and Laniado hospitals there are more pregnant women in serious condition.

Professor Galia Rahav, a specialist in viral disease who heads the Tel Hashomer department of viral diseases says that ” we need to vaccinate the pregnant women in this region and especially those in advanced pregnancy. In the previous waves [of COVID-19] we never saw such a lot of pregnant women in serious condition. It may be related to the mutation and we will investigate the matter.”

Both pregnant women in Beilinson, who were in their 31st week of pregnancy, were delivered prematurely. The infants are in stable condition and have been transferred to the Schneider childrens hospital’s neonatal unit, but the new mothers are in serious and unstable condition according to hospital reports.

The director of the ICU at Tel Hashomer hospital, Dr. Yael Chaviv, said that “during this wave we are seeing more and more cases of young people with severe reactions from COVID-19 which can even lead to situations of danger to life. This is not another disease harming older people and those with previous conditions.”

The Laniado hospital in Netanya reported that a 37-year-old woman in the 34th week of pregnancy had been delivered in an emergency operation and is intubated at the coronavirus ICU in serious condition.

Jerusalem’s Hadassah hospital performed an emergency caesarean operation on a woman in her ninth month but did not succeed in saving the infant. The mother required immediate medical procedures.

Dr. Itai Gal told Ynet that women were not included in the initial trials of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines but a number of women found out that they were pregnant during the trials and had healthy babies afterwards. The Israeli health ministry is now recommending that pregnant women be vaccinated against COVID-19.