Operational considerations for maintaining essential services for and providing maternal, newborn, and child healthcare in low-resource countries

Updated July 27, 2020While current data suggest that pregnant women, newborns, and children are not at highest risk for COVID-19 deaths, disruption of routine essential services poses a threat to their survival and health.Based on what we know at this time, pregnant women might be at an increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19 compared to non-pregnant women. The risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes, such as preterm birth, is increased among pregnant women with chronic conditions, such as asthma, heart disease, hypertension, and diabetes, or infectious diseases, such as tuberculosis (TB), malaria, and HIV, and may be increased among pregnant women with COVID-19. Newborns with low birth weight or prematurity are at increased risk for complications both generally and as a result of COVID-19. Among children, malnutrition, chronic conditions (e.g., asthma, diabetes, congenital heart defects, epilepsy, and behavior/learning problems), TB, malaria, and HIV are all examples of issues that need consistent healthcare services; service disruptions as a result of COVID-19 could result in substantial increases in mortality as a result of non-COVID-19 conditions, similar to what was seen during the Ebola epidemic.2020806