Melbourne baby in hospital with Covid

Alarming figures from a Melbourne hospital reveal a rise in pregnant women with Covid-19 and at least one premature baby who has the virus.

A surge in dangerously ill pregnant women suffering Covid-19 has prompted a desperate warning for other mums-to-be to get vaccinated immediately.

In the past week seven pregnant women with severe Covid cases have been sent to Monash Medical Centre, resulting to the premature birth of babies and at least one who already has the virus.

One of the mothers is also fighting for her own life in intensive care, while dangerously premature babies are being cared for in neonatal intensive care.

From Sunday all women who are 24 weeks or more into their pregnancies will receive priority access to Pfizer jabs at Victoria’s state-run vaccination centres.

Pregnant woman Ayme Limmer is getting her vaccine at 24 weeks pregnant. Picture: Rob Leeson.

Monash’s specialist maternity services has been streamed to handle all Covid positive maternity cases, but head of perinatal services Dr Ryan Hodges said he was terrified by the surge in cases and what may happen over the coming weeks.

“We are very worried. What we’ve seeing over the last week has caused alarm,” Dr Hodges said.

“We have lots of women now who are very sick, who are very high risk of having their babies needing to be born early.

“At the moment at Monash Womens we have seven women who are pregnant who are in hospital.

“One of them is in intensive care at 24 weeks gestation with a 600 gram baby. She is unwell.

“We have (women at) 26 weeks, we have 28 weeks, we have 30 weeks – these are very high risk and extremely premature babies.

“We had a mother came in last night with her baby who was also positive. And overwhelmingly, the women and families that we are looking after, they are not vaccinated.”

So far none of the hospitalised maternity Covid cases had been vaccinated, and the majority have come from Melbourne’s north and westerns suburbs.

Australian maternity units had grimly monitored the impact coronavirus’ Delta variant had on pregnancies in the US, the UK and Europe, and were now bracing for its full impact.

Due to the increased stresses on a body while pregnant, the Covid cases coming to Monash face a one in three chance of requiring oxygen therapy; a one in seven chance of ending up in intensive care: a one in two chance of an emergency delivery; and a one in four chance that the baby will need to be born prematurely.

Dr Hodges said Covid-positive women were also twice as likely to have stillbirth.

However, Dr Ryan said international data also showed the Pfizer vaccine was extremely safe for the 200,000 pregnant women and their babies to have already undergone their shots.

“It does not increase the risk of miscarriage; it does not increase the risk of abnormalities in babies; it does not increase the risk of pregnancy complications,” Dr Hodges said.

“It prevents severe disease, it prevents it prevents coming to Monash, it prevents you having your baby born early and coming to our intensive cate unit.

“The immune protection response actually crosses the placenta to the baby. It provides protection to the baby.”

Dr Hodges said maternity staff had been stunned by the level of illness caused by Delta, which was far worse than previous virus including the flu.

“This is not what we see with influenza.

“I never would have seven sick women in hospital with influenza.”

Ayme Limmer, 24 weeks pregnant, received her first Pfizer dose on Saturday at Monash Medical Centre.

“I wanted to get it for the protection it provides for the baby and myself – it’s that extra reassurance,” she said.