40 pregnant women or recent mothers with Covid have needed intensive care since start of pandemic

Forty women with Covid-19 who were either pregnant or less than six weeks after giving birth had to be admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) from the start of the pandemic to the end of September, new figures revealed today.

Thirty five of the women were admitted since January and all but one patient - who had one Covid-19 jab - were unvaccinated.

One woman spent two and a half months in intensive care.

Half the women had to have put on the most invasive form of ventilation indicating severity of disease.

Between March 2020 and the end of September last there were 1,884 admissions overall to ICU among confirmed cases of Covid-19 , 64pc of whom were men and 36pc women.

Of these, seven were aged under 14, 19pc were 15 to 44 and 80pc were over 45.

The report from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) said 28 women were pregnant and another 12 cases were reported to be less than 6 weeks after birth with six unknown.

The majority of admissions to ICU in pregnant and post-partum women occurred since January 2021.

Of the 40 cases admitted to ICU who were pregnant or less than six weeks post-partum between March 2020 and September 30 last, the median age was 32 years with an age range of 18 to 44 years

Some 30pc in the 15- to 44-year age group admitted to ICU were pregnant or post-partum.

Thirteen of the cases had an underlying medical condition. Thirty-nine were discharged to a ward or high dependency unit following their admission to ICU.

The median length of stay in ICU for those who were discharged was eight days, with a range of one to 77 days. The mean length of stay in ICU was 13 days. Of those discharged from ICU, 48pc were put on a ventilator and were intubated for their time in ICU and a further 20pc had their breathing supported through a non-invasive face mask.

When the Covid-19 vaccines became available in December 2020, pregnant women at high risk of severe disease and healthcare workers were advised to talk to their doctor about the jab.

If the benefit versus risk was favourable, vaccination was advised to be between 14 and 36 weeks’ gestation.

However, it has since been recommended for all pregnant women at any stage of pregnancy.

Of the 35 women admitted to ICU since from January 1 last to September 30 this year who were pregnant or less than six weeks post-partum, 34 of the cases were reported as not having received a Covid-19 vaccine. One patient was reported to have been partially vaccinated with one dose.