"The group with the highest risk of developing severe forms of COVID-19 are pregnant women over 35 who are overweight (BMI [body mass index] 25-29), obese (BMI 30 or more), suffer from diabetes and chronic arterial hypertension before pregnancy," the ministry's guidelines say.
According to the health ministry, an additional factor for increased risk of contracting COVID-19 for pregnant women is working in health care or other social professions.
"It has been shown that the incidence of COVID-19 … in pregnant women is significantly higher than in the general population," the ministry’s guidelines say.
Overall, the course of the illness is the same in pregnant women as in any other person; asymptomatic cases are also rather common among women carrying a child.
Moreover, the Russian health authorities noted that there is still no treatment against the coronavirus infection for newborns.
"Currently, there are no pharmacological substances with proven specific antiviral activity against COVID-19. All specific drugs proposed for therapy in adults and older children have significant side effects in the neonatal period and are thus not used [on infants]," the ministry guidelines say.
All the drugs currently used in COVID-19 therapy for adults and older children have significant side effects in the neonatal period and are thus not used on infants.