Coronavirus is making pregnancy terrifying: women worry that the virus will impact their pregnancy, and they are particularly concerned about having to seek prenatal care or go to the hospital - the very facilities that are also caring for the sickest patients suffering from COVID-19. Ovia launched a digital tool to help women decide if symptoms they are experiencing are concerning - based on guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). We wanted to provide needed education and help women make decisions. Over 76,000 women used our tool in the first 72 hours.
The initial results are below, but a few findings stand out:
Pregnant women frequently experience shortness of breath as a normal part of pregnancy, particularly in the third trimester, and many had difficulty distinguishing normal shortness of breath from the same symptom caused by COVID-19.
A relatively large percentage of women had one or more symptoms that are common with COVID-19, however very few had a fever. We recommended that these women contact their healthcare provider to see if testing or further evaluation is appropriate.
There is potential significant overlap between other symptoms of pregnancy and warning signs of COVID-19, including cough, gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea, and vomiting, and resulting dehydration.
In spite of enough concern among so many Ovia users that took the survey, fewer than 1% had been tested for COVID-19 (fortunately, most were negative).
Ovia Health is working to provide educational resources for the millions of women who look to our products for education and support, and we encourage OB/GYNs and midwives to reach out to their patients during this challenging time with information, specific education, and answers to the questions that are coming up every day.
Highlights from 75,932 responses:
66 percent of survey respondents are pregnant.
62 percent of respondents reported no symptoms indicative of COVID-19.
14 percent of respondents (13 percent of pregnant respondents) reported a combination of symptoms and health conditions suggesting they could be seriously ill with COVID-19 or another medical condition.
Nearly 27 percent of respondents reported a cough, which can be a sign of COVID-19 or entirely normal.
2 percent reported a fever.
9 percent reported new onset shortness of breath.