And while Cansino says that the lack of supplies don't affect the quality of care, and don't contribute to the number of deaths, it's still alarming to see more than 500 patients have been lost to the virus across the country.
And this year alone, 8 of those patients were pregnant women. Maternal deaths due to COVID is a concerning issue that the ministry of health and wellness is trying to tackle. Last year, there were only two, but that number has quadrupled in 2021.
And according to the technical advisor at the maternal and child health unit, Dr Natalia Beer, most of these pregnant patients were unvaccinated.
She explained today that approximately 500 pregnant women have contracted the virus, and they have noted that it's in the third trimester that most of the complications arise. In most cases, the baby is okay but the mother passes. She told us more via zoom.
Dr, Natalia Largaespada Beer, Technical Adviser, NHC Unit
"The majority of them are unvaccinated and we have a screening program in place where we screen pregnant women for Covid19 at 38 weeks pregnancy and for those who may deliver 38 weeks then they get screened upon admission to the hospital. So, yes we have seen an increase in the number of unvaccinated women that did not survive to covd19. Pregnant women have the same risk of getting infected. Pregnant women, before we use to say they have the same risk of complication as non-pregnant women, but the data is showing worldwide that pregnant women especially in the 3rd trimester have more risk for complications and dying from covid19."
Reporter
"These women who passed away did they go too full term or was it did they had to do an emergency C-section in most of the cases?"
Dr, Natalia Largaespada Beer
"In most of the cases they were in their 3rd trimester and pregnancies after the 37 weeks. Remember there is when a women get pregnant there is a lot of changes in all their organs and so that is stressful for the body and then they get infected with covid19 and if they are not vaccinated then its more stress, because then they dont have the anti-bodies to help them to fight off the covid19 and then other problems that they may have like hypertension during pregnancy, diabetes during pregnancy - other chronic conditions that they may have that just add on to the level of risk that they have when getting infected with covid19. The majority of them had their delivery without complications. In the case of the maternal deaths, also the majority except 1-2 had given birth to their child."
Pregnant women, at any stage of their pregnancy, are advised to take the Pfizer vaccine.
