Pregnancy and the arrival of a newborn baby should be a joyous time but over the past 12 months, the COVID-19 pandemic has made it a time of uncertainty for many.

With healthcare facilities focusing on COVID-19 patients and seeking to stop the spread of the coronavirus, pregnant women have in many cases had consultations with midwives reduced to remote sessions via smartphones or video calls. 

Support networks, which are so crucial for so many, have also been hampered by lockdowns and social distancing rules, while antenatal classes and groups have had to move online in many countries.

Those fortunate enough to see healthcare experts in person have also had to do so alone, with their partners ordered to stay at home to reduce the risk of spreading the virus in clinical settings.

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Women have also been left fearful of passing the coronavirus on to their baby and unsure what measures to take to ensure they don't harm their health, or that of their newborn. 

The World Health Organization says all health authorities should treat maternity services as essential during the pandemic, and that all pregnant women and new mothers should be treated with respect – including being allowed to have a person of their choice with them during labor.

Here are some of the key questions put to WHO during a recent live Q&A:

Are pregnant women more at risk of catching COVID-19?

The WHO's Ozge Tuncalp, a maternal and perinatal healthcare expert, says: "Right now, there is no evidence that pregnant women are at higher risk of getting COVID-19. What we do know is when they do get COVID-19 and when it's severe, we see higher rates of admission to intensive care units compared with women who are not pregnant. Therefore, it's very critical that pregnant women, those around them and all of us take the necessary precautions against COVID-19 transmission."

How can pregnant women reduce their risk of catching COVID-19?

Tuncalp says: "Pregnant women should take the same precautions to avoid COVID-19 infection as everyone else. You should wear a mask, wash your hands, keep physical distance, open windows as much as possible when indoors and practice respiratory hygiene. This means covering your mouth and nose with your bent elbow or tissue when you come for a sneeze and then disposing of the tissue immediately. It's also important to continue routine care appointments, antenatal care during pregnancy or after birth, postnatal care, getting the vaccinations recommended by your healthcare provider and keeping a healthy diet and exercise during this period."

If a woman gets COVID-19, should she socially distance from her newborn baby?

Tuncalp says: "We are currently recommending women to keep their babies with them, continue to breastfeed, continue to stay in the same room and have skin-to-skin contact, even if they have COVID-19. This is important because the risks of not doing these things actually outweigh the risk of the newborn getting the virus and falling sick. And in that case, we recommend all the good neonatal care, keeping the mother and baby together. 

"I also want to highlight the importance of continuing with infection prevention and control. There are things that we can do to reduce the risk for the baby, like wearing a mask, like making sure we keep the hygiene requirements etc..."

If a baby gets infected, how are they treated?

Janet Diaz, WHO COVID-19 clinical care lead, says: "We do know that COVID-19 in children seems to be largely a more mild disease than the one we can see in adults. But we still look for complications and if we find complications and a small child or an infant developed severe disease, we would treat them just like we treat adults. If they had a pneumonia, we'd give oxygen and then we would administer steroids as well and if the child had severe COVID-19 there would of course be other treatments as well."

Is it safe for pregnant women to be vaccinated against COVID-19?

Tuncalp: "We have very little data to assess the safety of these vaccines during pregnancy. However, based on what we know about the kinds of vaccines that are available, many of them being MRNA vaccines, there is no specific reason to believe there would be safety concerns for vaccination for pregnant women. 

"So, based on this, those pregnant women who are at high risk of exposure to SARS-COVID-2, for example, healthcare workers, or who have complications or comorbidities, for example, diabetes or hypertension, which adds to their risk of severe disease. If they were to contract COVID-19, then they may be vaccinated if they chose to do so and again in consultation with their health care provider to make an informed decision about this.

"So this recommendation applies to all the vaccines right now recommended by the WHO – Janssen, AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Biotech and Moderna."