Alina Allah Ditta1, Fehmeeda Bibi1 and Faiza Rao1,2
1Department of Zoology, University of Education Lahore, Multan campus.
2Center to Advance Level Research and Development, Multan.
Corresponding author: fehmeada.bibi@ue.edu.pk
The objectives of the study were to evaluate the effects of COVID-19 on pregnancy, mother, and fetus. Pregnancy is a physiological phenomenon in which a mother undergoes various major challenges that induce variations to her immunological condition.
This study focuses on the association between covid-19 and the third trimester of pregnancy outcomes, considering published data from Pakistan. In total, 145 females in third trimester of their pregnancy were studied. The data shows that these females were more likely to get infected with Covid-19 compared with those pregnant females of other trimesters. It is believed that pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory states highly regulate pregnancy. Thus, the cytokine storm in COVID-19 infections can create a pro-inflammatory state with increased corticosteroid production that may have a role in labor initiation and preterm labor.
Partial suppression of the mother’s immune system increases her susceptibility to respiratory viral infections. Studies in other countries reveal severe intrauterine growth retardation and life-threatening gastrointestinal complications observed in the fetus. It is suggested that this study needs to e done on a large scale with more number of samples to reach a solid conclusion regarding the influence of Covid-19 severity on the mother and fetus.
Keywords: Covid-19, immunosuppression, third trimester, cytokines, pregnancy.