Pregnancy and COVID-19 | Kaiser Permanente

With the world quickly evolving in response to Coronavirus, many of you are concerned about COVID-19 and what you can do to keep yourself and your pregnancy healthy. COVID-19 is a new disease, and information on how the virus affects pregnant people is limited. Based on the most current information from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, pregnant people might be at increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19 compared to non-pregnant people. Additionally, there may be an increased risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes, such as preterm birth, among pregnant people with COVID-19. Although some babies have tested positive for the virus shortly after birth, we don’t yet know if the virus can be transmitted during pregnancy or childbirth. Pregnant women experience changes in their immune systems that make them more likely to get viral respiratory infections like the flu, but there are proactive steps that you can take to protect your health.