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New Delhi: According to a small study conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research in Mumbai, abortions tripled during the second COVID wave in India, and the delta variant may cause more fetal deaths.
The study uses the term ‘spontaneous abortion’ for a miscarriage, which means the loss of a pregnancy before 20 weeks of gestation or the birth of a fetus weighing less than 500 grams.
Earlier research from ICMR’s National Institute for Research in Reproductive Health had shown That the second wave of the COVID pandemic resulted in an increase in maternal deaths compared to the first wave. However, research on the effect of the second wave on spontaneous abortion was not done.
For this study, published on Monday Ultrasound in obstetrics and gynecology, official magazine of International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and GynecologyThe team observed 1,630 COVID-positive women with spontaneous abortion at BYL Nair Charitable Hospital, Mumbai from 1 April 2020 to 4 July 2021.
According to the researchers, the rate of spontaneous abortion was as high as 82.6 for every 1,000 births in the second wave, compared to 26.7 in the first wave.
The study noted that before the pandemic, spontaneous abortions were more common between February and July than in the August-January period. In 2021, the second wave lasted between February and July, meaning there were significantly more such miscarriages in these months than in the same months in 2017 and 2018.
Read also: Pregnant and covid+ under 30 may have double the risk of serious illness than older women: Study
delta version
Researchers said the increase in spontaneous abortions during the second wave could be due to the presence of the highly contagious and virulent delta version of the coronavirus.
They said SARS-CoV-2 can infect the placenta and potentially affect fetal development as well.
In addition, with high COVID case rates and travel restrictions, there was a decrease in access to care visits and nutritious food for pregnant women – factors that could also increase spontaneous abortion.
However, one limitation of the study is that the researchers were unable to perform the SARS-CoV-2 test on embryos. The team was also unable to perform genome sequencing to identify the SARS-CoV-2 strains.
The study findings indicate that women who become pregnant during the pandemic need to be counseled about the risks, especially those who become infected with the disease during the first trimester of pregnancy.
“Our findings are important for public health policy, especially in the light of the predicted third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in India and other low-income and middle-income countries to prioritize vaccination of pregnant women,” the team wrote in the study.
Previous research has also shown that covid Harmful Effects on pregnant women, especially in low- and middle-income countries.
(Edited by Rachel John)
Read also: Smoking may worsen COVID severity, increase risk of death, UK study suggests
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