Why pregnancy and birth complications are up during the pandemic

COVID-19 and the conditions it created have made it harder to get prenatal care.

By Sarah Stark
Pregnancy complications in pandemic
In this May 7, 2020 file photo, a pregnant woman waits in a food pantry line at St. Mary's Church in Waltham, Mass., for people in need of groceries due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Charles Krupa / Associated Press
Pregnancy complications in pandemic
In this May 7, 2020 file photo, a pregnant woman waits in a food pantry line at St. Mary's Church in Waltham, Mass., for people in need of groceries due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Charles Krupa / Associated Press

Why pregnancy and birth complications are up during the pandemic

COVID-19 and the conditions it created have made it harder to get prenatal care.

By Sarah Stark
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Rates of preeclampsia were already on the rise among pregnant Americans for decades — then came COVID. A study published last week found pregnancy and birth outcomes worsened in the United States during the pandemic.

Reset checks in with a senior author of the study, a preeclampsia expert and a local OB-GYN to learn more about the rise of pregnancy and birth complications.

GUESTS: Dr. Jose Figueroa, Assistant Professor of Health Policy and Management at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Eleni Tsigas, CEO of the Preeclampsia Foundation

Dr. Melissa Simon, OB-GYN at Northwestern University Medicine and Director of the Center for Health Equity Transformation at the Institute for Public Health and Medicine