In past outbreaks of other coronaviruses like SARS and MERS, some pregnant women who were infected with these viruses have had miscarriage and premature delivery, research has shown.

We also know that severe infections, like the flu, can put pregnant people at a higher risk for preterm labor, but “we don’t know from this data if coronavirus is going to prove to be the same,” said Dr. Ilona Goldfarb, M.D., a maternal-fetal medicine specialist at Massachusetts General Hospital.

According to a review published on March 17, which analyzed 23 studies and was published in the journal Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology, 47 percent of the 32 women who were infected with Covid-19 delivered preterm. However it is important to note that the reasons for delivery weren’t reported for most of these cases. In addition, these women were hospitalized with Covid-19, which indicates that they were very sick.

Some pregnant women, however, will become infected and remain asymptomatic. Doctors at New York-Presbyterian Allen Hospital and Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York City tested maternity patients for the coronavirus, regardless of whether the patient was experiencing any symptoms. Of the 215 pregnant women who delivered babies between March 22 and April 4, most of the patients who were positive for the coronavirus at delivery were asymptomatic, the hospitals reported on April 13.

Do I need to prepare for a home birth?

“At this point in the outbreak, women should not change their delivery plans based on Covid-19,” Dr. Denise J. Jamieson, M.D., M.P.H., chairwoman of gynecology and obstetrics at the Emory University School of Medicine, said on March 18. “Hospitals are taking precautions to ensure that pregnant women are not exposed to ill patients and visitors.”

Dr. Irani said that she was not preparing her patients for a home birth either.

Experts have warned against women deciding at the last minute to give birth at home, which can require months of education, planning and preparation.

Should I consider an elective induction?

Doctors typically induce labor when the baby’s health or the mother’s health is at risk. But some women choose to have an elective induction for a variety of reasons — should coronavirus be one of them?