Before you panic! Just because the pregnancy test is positive, this does not mean the pregnancy is a viable, healthy, pregnancy. An ultrasound can verify the viability of your pregnancy.
It is important to schedule an appointment for a pregnancy test and ultrasound.
According to national estimates 15 – 20 percent of all pregnancies in the United States end in miscarriage before the 20th week of pregnancy. An ultrasound is important to make sure the pregnancy is viable.
You may be especially scared during this time with COVID-19 in our nation.
Here is some information and advise for pregnant women from UC Health Colorado and the CDC, (Center for Disease Control).
Physicians are advising their pregnant patients to treat COVID-19 similarly to other viruses, such as the seasonal flu, and take the same precautions to prevent it.
These precautions include:
• Wash your hands frequently with soap and water. Wash for at least 20 seconds before you eat, after you sneeze and after using the bathroom.
• Use alcohol-based hand sanitizers in addition to hand-washing.
• Regularly clean surfaces like counters and your mobile phone.
• Avoid community candy jars, and be careful at buffets, where many people touch surfaces or utensils.
• Sneeze and cough into a sleeve rather than into your hand or the air.
• Avoid contact with anyone with cold or flu symptoms.
• Stay home from work or school if you are sick.
• If you’re sick or immunocompromised, avoid places with large numbers of people.
We all must continue to live life and care for our families, however we must make smart decisions. Keeping ourselves and our family safe is important.”
Am I more susceptible to the coronavirus because I’m pregnant?
Coronavirus is a family of viruses that can cause respiratory symptoms similar to the common cold and seasonal flu. Symptoms range from mild to severe. COVID-19 is the name given to the disease caused by this year’s outbreak of a new strain of coronavirus.
“Most people who develop coronovirus have mild symptoms and do not need to be hospitalized,”
Pregnant women are more vulnerable to viral respiratory infections like the new coronavirus or COVID-19, and therefore, should be more cautious
The new coronavirus spreads from person to person. According to the CDC, the virus appears to spread:
• Between people who are in close contact with one another (within about 6 feet).
• Via respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes.
• When droplets land in the mouths or noses of people nearby or are, possibly, inhaled into the lungs.
During pregnancy, women experience changes within their bodies that might make them more susceptible to viral respiratory infections, and this could include COVID-19.
“Pregnant women should continue to manage their pregnancy using the same preventive actions they always would to stay healthy, such as washing their hands and staying away from people who are sick.”
Are there risks from COVID-19 for unborn children?
The evidence is not yet clear on whether the unborn child will be affected, so staying as healthy as possible is best.
As always, practice good hygiene, Covering your mouth and nose with a sneeze or cough, and washing your hands are important. And traveling to countries that are highlighted on the CDC high risk areas is not recommended during pregnancy.”
What should I do if I start feeling flu-like symptoms during my pregnancy? Could it be COVID-19?
The CDC estimates that influenza (seasonal flu) has resulted in between 9 and 45 million illnesses, between 140,000 and 810,000 hospitalizations, and between 12,000 and 61,000 deaths annually since 2010.
Reported COVID-19 illnesses have ranged from mild symptoms to severe illness and death. Symptoms include fever, cough and shortness of breath.
So, it’s entirely possible that someone with respiratory symptoms has the seasonal flu and not COVID-19. Either way, high fever during the first trimester can increase certain birth defects. And it is known that other respiratory viral infections during pregnancy, such as the flu, have been associated with outcomes such as low birth weight and preterm birth, according to the CDC.
“If you’re feeling sick, low-sugar hydration (such as water) is very important,” “You know you’re well hydrated when your urine is a light yellow color.”
Physicians say it is OK for pregnant women to take Tylenol (not aspirin or ibuprofen) if they have a fever of 100.4 degrees or higher.
“If you’re drinking lots of fluids and have taken Tylenol but you’re not able to keep your fever down, or you’re vomiting or have other symptoms such as difficulty breathing, then you should call your health care provider immediately,”
During the call, your health care provider can help advise you as to where and when you should be evaluated by a health care provider.
If I get coronavirus while pregnant, can it be passed to my unborn child? Could it hurt my unborn child?
There is no affirmative information telling us that COVID-19 has a negative effect on babies delivered to mothers with the virus.
There is not enough evidence to say whether COVID-19 has a negative effect on babies delivered to mothers with the coronavirus, according to the CDC.
According to the CDC, the virus that causes COVID-19 is thought to spread mostly through close contact with an infected person, via respiratory droplets. And public health officials still don’t know whether a pregnant woman with COVID-19 can transmit the virus to her child before, during or after delivery.
However, in limited recent case studies of infants born to mothers with COVID-19 published in the peer-reviewed literature, none of the infants have tested positive for the virus that causes COVID-19, according to the CDC. Additionally, virus was not detected in samples of amniotic fluid or breast milk.
And at this time, there is no information on long-term health effects on infants either with COVID-19, or those exposed in utero to the virus that causes COVID-19.
This is not meant to replace any medical diagnosis. Please contact your Physician immediatly or call 911 in an emergency.