ICMR advises asymptomatic pregnant women likely to deliver in 5 days to get tested for COVID-19

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has issued an advisory asking all pregnant women likely to deliver in the next five days and residing in cluster or containment areas from hotspot districts be tested for COVID-19 even if asymptomatic.

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“Asymptomatic pregnant women should be tested in the health facilities where they are expected to deliver and all arrangements should be made to collect and transfer samples to testing facilities. Women should not be referred for lack of testing facilities,” ICMR said.

“Testing for pregnant women should be done as per the ICMR testing strategy. Pregnant women residing in clusters/containment areas or in large migration gatherings/evacuees centres from hotspot districts presenting in labour or likely to deliver in the next five days should be tested even if asymptomatic,” it said.

It said advisories would be updated periodically.

Earlier, the ICMR had cautioned that pregnant women with heart disease were at highest risk. It had also noted that the COVID-19 outbreak increased the risk of perinatal anxiety and depression, as well as domestic violence.

As per the previous guidelines, ICMR had stated that pregnant women do not appear more likely to contract the infection than the general population. However, pregnancy itself alters the body’s immune system and response to viral infections in general, which can occasionally be related to more severe symptoms and this will be the same for COVID-19.

The ICMR had also asked hospitals to maintain a registry for all women admitted with confirmed COVID-19 infection in pregnancy. “Maternal and neonatal records including outcome should be completed in detail and preserved for analysis in future,” it said.