Indications for terminating pregnancy
The guidelines on deciding termination of pregnancy have been suggested
by Wang SS et al.29 and they
are based on:
- Obstetric Indications: judging according to the specific situation and
indications for termination of pregnancy
- Severe and Critically ill cases of COVID-19 pneumonia: in which cases
continuing pregnancy may endanger the life of the mother and the
fetus. The severe and critical states refer to:
- Severe cases refer to respiratory distress (respiratory rate ≥30
beats/min); or oxygen saturation ≤93% at rest; or arterial blood
oxygen pressure (PaO2)/oxygen concentration (FiO2) ≤300 mmHg.
- Critically ill patients refer to cases with respiratory failure and
requirement for mechanical ventilation; or shock; or complications of
other organ failure requiring ICU monitoring and treatment.
The termination can then be carried out vaginally when the illness is
mild, there are favorable cervical conditions, mother is already in
labor and there are no contraindications present to SVD. Surgical
termination is reserved for severe and critical cases as mentioned
above.