PREGNANT women are being urged to get Covid vaccinations amid concerns about rising hospital admissions.

North East medic Richard Cree, who is a doctor at James Cook University Hospital, in Middlesbrough, says a “surprising number” of pregnant patients had been admitted with the virus.

In his blog, nomoresurgeons.com, he said a pregnant Covid patient had to have an emergency caesarian due to her condition.

The baby is said to be doing well, while the mother is making improvements but remains ventilated in the ICU, he added.

Urging pregnant women to get the vaccine, Dr Cree said: “Over the past month we have seen a surprising number of pregnant patients become unwell due to Covid-19 and require admission to hospital.

"Pregnancy causes complicated changes to your immune system and we know that pregnancy increases the likelihood of developing serious complications following many viral infections, including Covid-19.

"Unfortunately, the vaccine uptake amongst pregnant women is not what it should be and so we are seeing more and more pregnant patients."

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and the Royal College of Midwives have recommend that women who are pregnant or considering pregnancy get their Covid-19 vaccine as soon as possible.

Among the high profile pregnant women to speak on the topic is Countdown presented Rachel Riley, who said she was "pleased" to get her second jab and urged other women to "check their sources" when making important health decisions.

Pregnant Labour MP Stella Creasy has been campaigning for pregnant women to be treated as a priority group.

Dr Cree said about 95 per cent of the pregnant  women admitted to James Cook with Covid-19 have not been vaccinated.

He said most of the women admitted had only needed high-flow oxygen or CPAP but said being critically ill was "far from desirable".

He added: "Anything that reduces a pregnant woman’s oxygen levels can reduce the baby’s oxygen levels too. In this situation, the baby may need to be delivered early to avoid disaster.

“This week, one of our pregnant patients became so unwell that it was clear that there was no choice other than to deliver the baby. Our lady was sufficiently late on in her pregnancy that we did not have to worry too much about the risks of premature birth but this was obviously a very troubling situation.

“Fortunately, everything went well. The baby was delivered by emergency caesarean section with a minimum of fuss thanks to the combined efforts of the team of obstetricians, anaesthetists, midwives and nurses. Baby is doing fine and whilst mum remains ventilated on the ICU, her condition is showing some signs of improvement.”

Read his blog: www.nomoresurgeons.com

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