The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently published an update on the increased risk of pregnant women with symptomatic, confirmed cases of COVID-19. Two studies found that pregnant women with the virus are significantly more likely than non-pregnant women to be admitted into intensive care units and require oxygen. They are also more likely to die from the disease.

According to The National Interest, researchers said that pregnant women were three times more apt to need invasive ventilation to help with breathing. While pregnant women were found to be slightly more at risk of dying than women who are not pregnant, certain ethnic groups such as Hispanic women had more than twice the odds of dying from the virus.

Data released in July by the CDC revealed that pregnant women with the coronavirus had a 50% higher chance of being admitted to intensive care and a 70% chance of being intubated than nonpregnant women in their childbearing years. According to ProPublica, the CDC also found that Latina and Black women are infected at significantly higher rates than white women.

According to The New York Times, British researchers reported a “high rate of preterm birth and Caesarean delivery in women with SARS-CoV-2 infection.” They also found an increase in stillborn and preterm delivery rates during the pandemic, according to JAMA.

Experts say that pregnant women may have suppressed immune systems that make them more vulnerable to infection. They also experience physiological changes that can affect the function of their lungs and cardiovascular system, according to the Times. While more research is needed to determine the causes, research indicates that pregnant women should be “scrupulous about wearing masks and social distancing in order to minimize the risk of infection.”.

“The take-home message is that pregnant women can get seriously ill with this,” Dr. Peter S. Bernstein, a professor of clinical obstetrics and gynecology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York and an expert on high risk maternal and fetal medicine, told the Times. “We don’t know for sure that they will get sicker than they would have if they weren’t pregnant, but certainly there are women out there who are getting sick and even dying.”

The CDC urged all pregnant women to seek prompt medical care if they suspect they have the virus and advised doctors and physicians to ensure that their patients take every precaution to guard against infection.