COVID positive PREGNANT FEMALE? A time restricted blessing !!

PREGNANCY is a critical life stage for females. A COVID POSITIVE PREGNANT FEMALE will be tensed about this pandemic and how her body will react to this virus.

Usually, a PREGNANT FEMALE is quite vulnerable to various viral and bacterial infections. But surprisingly, THIS IS NOT THE CASE IN COVID DISEASE !!

The hormonal changes provide protective shield.

BUT

This is A TIME LIMITED SHIELD!!

Pregnancy is a common phase through which most females go through once in life. During pregnancy, a female body undergoes a lot of hormonal changes which leads to changes such as mood changes, water retention and others.

It is quite well known that, pregnancy does make a female vulnerable to many infections and problems because of the physiological change that occur in her body. 

But luckily it is these physiological changes, that make a female more tolerant to COVID virus.

COVID-19 VIRUS

COVID virus attaches to ACE RECEPTORS present on various organs of body.

Most of these receptors are present on LUNGS.

These receptors have also been found on other organs such as GASTRO INTESTINAL TRACT, UPPER RESPIRATORY TRACT, KIDNEY, LIVER and even BRAIN.

Hence, COVID virus attaches to these organs and gives out respective symptoms.

The general symptoms of COVID virus occur due to the inflammatory changes in the body. When virus enters the body, our immune systems attacks it and all of these results in fever, cough and other symptoms.

COVID POSITIVE PREGNANT FEMALES

The research data collected over TIME has brought out some interesting finding!

It was found that COVID POSITIVE PREGNANT FEMALES, infact had less symptoms and also less death rates as compared to no pregnant females and males.

This is paradoxical to the findings seen in other diseases in pregnant females.

The exact cause lies in the hormonal changes that occur in a female during pregnancy. 

Pregnancy is a time period where hormones such as ESTROGEN & PROGESTERONE are at peak. These hormones help in maintain the fetus and its proper growth.

This increase in STEROID hormones such as ESTROGEN and PROGESTRONE act in 2 ways to protect the mother from covid and its symptoms-

• These hormones decrease the levels of ACE receptors present in the body.
• due to decrease in ACE receptors, COVID VIRUS gets less receptors to attach. 
• and hence less pregnant females get covid virus !! 

As discussed earlier, symptoms of COVID virus occur due to the inflammatory changes in the body. The virus enters and the immune systems attacks it and all of these results in fever, cough and other symptoms.

• These STEROID hormones also act on the inflammatory system of the body. 

• in a PREGNANT FEMALE, steroid hormones such as ESTROGEN and Progesterone increase in blood.
• these steroid hormones, suppress the Th-1 and Th-17 reactions and decrease the inflammatory reactions
• this, as a result leads to less symptoms.

These steroidal hormones are also present in non pregnant females, so why are they not protected? 

What is the effect of these hormones on them?

This will be posted next week! So, SUBSCRIBE to get notified !!

But

there is a big downside to this protective effect of steroid hormones during pregnancy.

As soon the baby is delivered, these hormone come back to normal stage. 
And as these come back to normal levels their PROTECTIVE EFFECTS ARE LOST.
Immediately after pregnancy, the cytokine levels, NK cells, T cells and levels of other inflammatory cells increase and this leads to more symptoms.

This is the reason why THERE IS HIGHER COVID DEATH RATE OF FEMALES AFTER PREGNANCY.

BUT, can CORONA VIRUS spread through BREAST MILK??

The virus that spreads so rapidly, can it spread through the layer of maternal love?

Check out here 👇

https://www.medicalmythbuster.info/2020/06/can%20corona%20virus%20spread%20thorugh%20breastmilk.html

CONCLUSION-
IS COVID SEVERE IN PREGNANCY? - NO

Pregnant females are less vulnerable to COVID-19.

And hence have less symptoms and have less death rates. But tables turn immediately after pregnancy.

WARNING !

All the information stated above, is found as a general research. One should not make the mistake of taking this virus lightly. And protective measure such as MASKS and SOCIAL DISTANCING should always bee maintained

That's all for this topic !!  
SUBSCRIBE for upcoming myths to be busted.

If you have any myth or doubt, and want a proper explaination for that, feel free to mention it in the comment section below ! 

THANKS FOR READING !

STAY SAFE !

STAY HYGEININC !

Connect with us on social media platforms!

SOURCES-

1. What immunological and hormonal protective factors lower the risk of COVID-19 related deaths in pregnant women by YifruBerhan
   

2. Clinical Manifestation and Laboratory Characteristics of SARS-CoV-2

   Infection in Pregnant Women by Chunchen Wu and others

3. Coronavirus disease 2019 infection among asymptomatic and symptomatic pregnant women: two weeks of confirmed presentations to an affiliated pair of New York City hospitals by NoelleBreslinMDa and others

4. Do men have a higher case fatality rate of severe acute respiratory syndrome than women do? by J Karlberg, DSY Chong, WYY Lai. American journal of epidemiology 159 (3), 229-231, 2004

5. What’s Sex Got to Do With COVID-19? Gender-Based Differences in the Host Immune Response to Coronaviruses by Nirupa Gadi and others

6. Sex and COVID-19: A Protective Role for Reproductive Steroids by Graziano Pinna Published:November 08, 2020