Montevideo, 7 de noviembre de 2022. Within the framework of the FIGO 2022 Regional Congress, the advisor in Maternal Health of the Latin American Center of Perinatology - Women's and Reproductive Health (CLAP/WR), Bremen De Mucio participated in the session "Infections and their prevention during pregnancy: present and future" together with Dr. Eliana Amaral from Brazil and Dr. Eliana Castillo from Colombia.
The three speakers emphasized the importance of vaccines during pregnancy and made reference to the benefits they have, both for the mother's and the baby's health.
During her presentation, Amaral emphasized the importance of continuing to provide clear and reliable information. She expressed that it is important for women to know what is recommended at each stage of their pregnancy, and pointed out that it is also essential to have health personnel trained to deal with these issues.
Amaral also said that it is necessary to guarantee access to vaccines as well as to develop and maintain surveillance systems for vaccines, infections and results in pregnant women.
For his part, Castillo pointed out that vaccination during pregnancy has multiple benefits: it protects the mother, prevents premature births and protects the baby.
Castillo also made reference to the fears that exist in relation to vaccination in pregnant women and stated that it is important to know and measure the possible damages.
Finally, she referred to the Covid 19 vaccine and recalled that it is recommended for all pregnant women in all trimesters. "Evidence has shown that Covid kills and has demonstrated the efficacy of vaccines to protect mothers and babies."
The CLAP/WR advisor further elaborated on this topic. De Mucio explained the work carried out by CLAP and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) to monitor the impact of Covid 19 on the pregnant population. Among other things, this monitoring led to the publication of a study with data from 8 countries in the region. One of the data emerging from the study is that 35% of the pregnant women who died of Covid 19-associated causes were not admitted to intensive care.
In this sense, De Mucio expressed that it is important to make visible the existing inequalities that have caused Covid 19 to have differentiated impacts in the different regions according to the vulnerability situations that affect women.
The CLAP/WR advisor was forceful in pointing out the positive impact of the vaccine and pointed out that it is essential that pregnant women continue to be a priority group for vaccination.
