Important Message For Women Who Are Pregnant Or Planning To Get Pregnant

10th January 2022

Public Heath Scotland have updated their Blog on the danger of Covid to women who are pregnant or planning to get pregnant.

The messages are clear with references to the dangers to women themselves and their unborn babies.

Unfortunately, there is also increasing evidence that COVID-19 infection in pregnancy can be very serious for the baby as well as the mother. To date, we have identified 684 babies who have been born within 28 days of their mother having COVID-19 during pregnancy. The rate of stillbirth or neonatal death among these babies was 20.5/1,000 births (14/684) which is considerably higher than the 6.3/1,000 births usually seen in Scotland.

We routinely monitor the outcomes of babies following maternal vaccination in pregnancy, and have confirmed that there is no evidence of an increased risk of stillbirth or neonatal death following vaccination. Despite these facts, only 43% of women who delivered their baby in October 2021, had received any COVID-19 vaccination before delivery. This in stark contrast to the 85% uptake of any COVID-19 vaccination in all women aged 18 to 44 years for the same period.

It is essential that we address this gap; vaccination is the safest and most effective way for women of all ages and backgrounds to protect themselves and their babies against COVID-19 infection.

Read the report updated on 6 January 2022 HERE