Pregnant women urged to get Covid-19 vaccine 'as most are unvaccinated'

ENGLAND’s top midwife has called on all the pregnant women in the UK to take Covid-19 vaccines as soon as possible amid the worrying rise of hospitalisation cases of unvaccinated pregnant women in the country. Also, recent data shows that most of the mothers-to-be in the UK are not vaccinated.

“Vaccines save lives, and this is another stark reminder that the Covid-19 jab can keep you, your baby and your loved ones safe and out of hospital,” Prof Jacqueline Dunkley-Bent, chief midwifery officer for England, said citing a study which shows that most of the pregnant women admitted in hospitals due to Covid-19 complications were unvaccinated. 

In a letter to midwives, obstetricians and GP practices, Dunkley-Bent said that all healthcare professionals have "a responsibility to proactively encourage pregnant women" to get vaccinated.

England has been offering mothers-to-be Pfizer or Moderna coronavirus jab since mid-April 2021.

However, a recent study based on data collected by the UK Obstetric Surveillance System (UKOSS) stated that the majority (98 per cent) of 171 pregnant women hospitalised with coronavirus symptoms since mid-May had not received a Covid-19 vaccine, compared to just three women who had received the first dose. None of the pregnant women admitted was fully vaccinated.

About one in three pregnant women in hospital with Covid-19 developed pneumonia while one in seven needed intensive care, reports said.

Estimates based on GP records and Public Health England (PHE) data also suggest hundreds of thousands of pregnant women have not had the jab. As per PHE, just 51, 724 pregnant women have received one dose of vaccine as compared to approximately 606,500 pregnant women in the country as per GP records.

Also, there is said to be evidence that the Delta variant poses a significantly greater risk to pregnant women than previous strains since they are already recognised to be at slightly increased risk of becoming severely unwell or to experience complications such as preterm birth or stillbirth if they become infected.

The study, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, also found that one in five women admitted to hospital with serious Covid symptoms went on to give birth prematurely, while the likelihood of delivery by caesarean section doubled, reports said.