If you just found out that you are pregnant, then you are likely excited to add a new addition to your family. However, whether you are expecting your first child or already have children, you may wonder just how the COVID-19 pandemic will affect your pregnancy care inside and outside of your OBGYN's office. 

Read on to learn a few facts you should know about pregnancy care during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Fewer In-Person Pregnancy Care Visits are Recommended

Many physicians, including OBGYNs, are performing telephone and online visits with their patients more than ever to help reduce the spread of COVID-19 around their offices and have found great success. For this reason, the prenatal care guidelines that most OBGYNs in the United States follow are changing for the first time since 1930

While the old prenatal care guidelines advised OBGYNs to have expectant mothers visit their offices about 12 to 14 times during their pregnancy, the new guidelines suggest that women instead visit their OBGYNs about 8 to 10 times during their pregnancies. This guideline change was made after analyzing pregnancy care outcomes and realizing that women who visited their OBGYNs more often did not necessarily have healthier pregnancies or babies.

In addition, the new guidelines allow for some prenatal care visits to be performed over the telephone or with online meeting services. 

You Should Obtain the COVID-19 Vaccine 

If you have not yet obtained the COVID-19 vaccine, then you likely wonder if you should get it now that you are pregnant. Most health experts advise pregnant women to obtain the COVID-19 vaccine to help protect not only themselves but also their babies from the detriments of the virus. 

Due to immune system changes that occur during pregnancy, pregnant women are more likely to develop severe symptoms if they catch the COVID-19 than people who are not pregnant. Not only can these symptoms put an expectant mother's life at risk during pregnancy, but they also have the potential to take a toll on the health of their unborn child. For example, if you struggle to eat well-balanced meals due to the lack of appetite that the COVID-19 virus causes, your unborn child could develop nutritional deficiencies that increase the risk of development of some birth defects. 

In addition, it is also now believed that an unborn child can become infected with the COVID-19 virus when their mother develops the infection, which can be prevented with the COVID-19 vaccination. 

Finally, the COVID-19 antibodies that your immune system produces after you obtain the COVID vaccine pass to your unborn child through the placenta. This can lead to your child being born with antibodies that protect them from the virus as a newborn. 

If you just found out that you are expecting a child, then keep these facts about pregnancy care during the COVID-19 pandemic in mind as you make your pregnancy healthcare decisions. Talk to a pregnancy care facility near you to learn more.

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