Belfast hospital treating 12 pregnant women for COVID-19 this week

6 babies are currently in isolation, reports reveal.

12 pregnant women, who tested positive for COVID-19, were treated by the Belfast Trust in the past week. According to RTÉ, all of the women were unvaccinated. They stated: "We have recently had to arrange preterm delivery for a number of women. In these instances, their babies required admission to the neonatal intensive care unit." Six babies are currently in isolation. The Trust explained that babies born with COVID-19 must be isolated 10 days after birth. The hospital stated that the majority of patients are in their third trimester and have required ventilation.  "[The] majority being hospitalised in their third trimester, over 26 weeks," they confirmed. They explained that the increase in pregnant patients with COVID-19 has caused major issues with system capacity. "If a baby is in the neonatal unit and its parents are Covid positive, unfortunately - for infection prevention and control reasons - parents will not be allowed to hold their baby until they have completed the required period of isolation or had a negative PCR test." Medical experts have urged pregnant women to get vaccinated if they're between weeks 14 and 36 of pregnancy. Vaccination is the best way to protect both you and your baby against COVID-19. "Pregnant women are at greater risk of serious illness if they get Covid, and those with severe Covid are twice as likely to experience a stillbirth and three times as likely to have a preterm baby," said The Royal College of Midwives in Northern Ireland. The HSE states that you can avail of the vaccine if you're over 16 and pregnant, trying for a baby or might get pregnant in the future or, breastfeeding. However, many people are hesitant about getting vaccinated when pregnant, but a new UK trial is currently underway to find the safest gap between COVID-19 vaccine doses for pregnant women. The researchers behind the study hope this new information will reassure and increase people's confidence in the vaccine. Professor Paul Heath believes the vaccine uptake in pregnant women is low because of misinformation. "I suspect that one of the reasons for that is that they do not feel confident enough about vaccination. Perhaps participating in a trial will give them that confidence." The majority of pregnant women who test positive for COVID-19 get mild to moderate symptoms. They give birth normally and the risk of passing on COVID-19 to their baby is low. However, expectant mums are still at a higher risk of suffering from severe illness and could need treatment in intensive care. The virus may also cause complications for your baby. Click here for more information on pregnancy and COVID-19.