Pregnant patients in Quebec getting COVID-19 at alarming rate

“It's better to be careful,” says Dr. Diane Francoeur, gynecologist at Sainte-Justine Hospital, one of many doctors in Quebec seeing an all-time high of pregnant women infected with COVID-19 since the pandemic began. Pamela Pagano reports.

By Pamela Pagano

Posted April 21, 2022 3:13 pm.

Last Updated April 21, 2022 7:11 pm.

Quebec doctors say they’ve noticed that the number of pregnant patients with COVID-19 is at an all-time high since the beginning of the pandemic. With the province now in a sixth wave with Omicron’s BA.2 highly contagious subvariant, health professionals say an increase of infection across the population is to be expected, and those who are pregnant are no exception.

“[I’ve been] working there for 30 years and seeing pregnant patients with COVID since the beginning of the pandemic. But in the last couple of weeks, especially over the weekend, It was really impressive the amount of patients that came in with COVID,” explained Dr. Diane Francoeur, executive director of the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada.

Miranda Serrecchia, a Montreal mother, is one of many pregnant patients during the global pandemic.

“I haven’t really made it official. So I think this is going to be the first real big public announcement [of my pregnancy], I didn’t post it on my social media.”

Pregnancy photos. (Photos Courtesy: Miranda Serrecchia)

But trying her best to dodge the virus isn’t the only challenge she’s faced over the last few years.

“Oh gosh, this is actually my second pandemic pregnancy. My first was right at the beginning of the pandemic. It happened end of May 2020. Unfortunately, I lost that one in August 2020,” said Serrecchia.

After her miscarriage, finding out she was pregnant again was bittersweet, as the news came the same week her son contracted COVID-19.

“When they’re sick they just want mommy, they just want to cuddle. And so he was all up in this space, it’s hard not to share contact or share germs at that point. But luckily, I tested negative and I’m very happy for that. And so our journey began that way.”

Dr. Francoeur, who works at Sainte-Justine Hospital, says she’s seen many pregnant patients coming in because they have COVID symptoms or the virus itself and she’s been getting calls from patients worried about what it means for them and for their deliveries in hospital.

“We had patients who had been really sick, that had to be incubated and didn’t see their baby for weeks and even months. So it’s you never know how it’s going to end until it’s over. So it’s it’s better to be careful,” said Dr. Francoeur.

Dr. Jesse Papenburg with Montreal’s Children’s hospital has noticed the increase as well, and says social contacts must be limited and vaccinations critical.

“I think that we’re seeing the same situation across the entire population right now. We know that community levels of transmission remain very high in Montreal, and that means that pregnant women, as part of the population that’s out there mixing and socializing or going to work and doing all the things that they need to do are at risk for getting infected.”

“Having COVID-19 can impede the placenta’s ability to properly provide oxygen to the baby. And that’s why it can cause problems for the baby if a pregnant woman does develop COVID.”

Miranda Serrecchia and her son. (Photos Courtesy: Miranda Serrecchia)

As for Serrecchia, she’s being extra cautious but looking forward to seeing her son become a big brother.

“It’s a little boy. Oh, boy. I’m a boy mom! We don’t have a name yet. If anybody has suggestions, I’m totally open. But … We’re very happy, very excited.”