Following reported cases of pregnant women dying from coronavirus at 24 weeks gestation, we wrote to Edward Morris, the President of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, to urge the RCOG to review its position that women under 28 weeks of gestation are at less risk than those past that mark. The letter is co-signed by Joeli Brearley, CEO of Pregnant Then Screwed and our Chair, Lauren Currie OBE.

 

29 April 2020

 

Mr. Edward Morris

President

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists 

10-18 Union Street

London 

SE1 1SZ

Dear Mr Morris,

Further to our previous correspondence dated 29.03.2020 and 27.04.2020, we write again regarding the 28-week delineation for risks to pregnant workers, as set out in the RCOG occupational guidance for pregnant healthcare workers. 

We welcome your recent revisions to the occupational guidance (versions 3.0 and 3.1) and the steps you have taken to emphasise the role of risk assessments in the workplace for pregnant healthcare workers. We also appreciate the issues surrounding suspension and pay are not in your remit and we have written to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care separately on this matter. However, we know that the NHS trusts as well as private healthcare providers continue to defer to the 28-week distinction in your occupational guidance, and are insisting that there are no risks to pregnant women before this point,

We’re sure you are aware of the recent study by researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital into the effects of COVID-19 on pregnant women, published this week in The American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology. As you know, this was a study of nine cases of COVID-19 in pregnant women; seven of these women sadly died, one remains critically ill and one has since recovered. 

While we appreciate the limitations of this study, we are deeply concerned that of the seven deaths recorded, two of these women were at 24 weeks gestation. In both cases, their babies also died. We note that another case study of 28+0 weeks gestation had displayed symptoms 14 days before her hospitalisation. Sadly, that patient and her twins also passed away. These three cases are notable in that each woman contracted the coronavirus prior to the 28-week mark.