SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is recommending women who are pregnant, breastfeeding, or trying to get pregnant to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

Mercy OBGYN hospitalist Dr. Chandria Johnson says pregnant women who test positive for COVID-19 are two and a half times more likely to need significant life support.

If they get that sick, it can be hard for them to have normal oxygen levels, which could harm an unborn child.

”It becomes progressively more challenging, sometimes in these severe cases, to get severe oxygenation,” Dr. Johnson says. “In some cases, we’ve had to deliver the baby earlier than you otherwise would want to in order to get the baby out to protect the baby and allow the mother to get full treatment.”

Since August 1, Dr. Johnson says the labor and delivery department admitted 12 patients who tested positive for COVID-19. Of those 12 patients, five had stillbirths.

“All of these women were healthy, had normal pregnancies with no other risk factors for complications,” Dr. Johnson says. “The majority of them were young, in their 20′s, and otherwise low-risk pregnancies.”

Dr. Johnson says these are all patients who tested positive within two to three weeks of delivery. Dr. Johnson says COVID-19 can cause clots to form in the placenta that block oxygen-rich blood from flowing between the mom and her baby.

“The oxygen exchange can’t happen,” Dr. Johnson says. “The blood doesn’t flow to the baby, and then that affects baby. That can either cause a stillbirth or can cause a baby to have low oxygen during the pregnancy, which can potentially affect the baby’s development after birth.”

Mercy pediatrics nurse Jessica Loudis is giving birth to a baby girl in October. At first, Loudis had no plan to get vaccinated. However, she recently got her second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine after hearing just how sick some of the pregnant patients got.

“Please do your own research,” Loudis says. “Look at the evidence-based articles, not just any article that you read online or on social media.”

There are no known risks associated with pregnant women getting the vaccine. Loudis says getting vaccinated while pregnant also helps create antibodies that protects the baby.

“We are seeing kids being admitted sick with COVID, and that’s scary to me,” Loudis says. “I don’t want to bring that home to her either after she’s born, so just knowing that she’s protected for a little while at least gives me piece of mind.”

Dr. Johnson says if you are pregnant and have tested positive for COVID-19, it’s important to reach out to your doctor.

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