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Chair of the Institute of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists Dr. Cliona Murphy. Sasko Lazarov/RollingNews.ie

20 pregnant and postpartum women admitted to ICU with Covid since June, obstetrician says

Dr. Cliona Murphy also said that three women had been transferred to general hospitals for ICU care this weekend alone.

20 PREGNANT AND postpartum women have been admitted to intensive care units for Covid-19 treatment since June, the chair of the Institute of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has said. 

Dr Cliona Murphy, who also works at the Coombe Maternity Hospital, said three women had been transferred from maternity hospitals in Dublin to general hospitals for ventilation and ICU care this weekend alone. 

Speaking on RTÉ’s News at One, she described the number as “striking”.

From the end of November 2020 until June of this year, 22 pregnant or postpartum women have needed ICU care, the vast majority of whom were unvaccinated. 

“What we have seen, particularly in the last few weeks, is that they can deteriorate pretty quickly. Instead of being able to manage on some oxygen, often we are in a position of where the woman is struggling to breathe and sometimes, that can be a problem with the baby,” Murphy said. 

She said that mothers who are moved to ICU for Covid treatment can be there for up to five weeks.

In some cases, mothers may need ECMO, a specialised life support unit that is more intensive than a regular ventilator. The unit is only available in one hospital in the country. 

“Generally, we might have one person a year who needs ECMO, and there has been quite a handful of people who have needed ECMO this year, and that is extraordinary for obstetrics,” Murphy added.

She said that while pregnant women are not more likely to get Covid, they are more prone to symptoms than the rest of the population, adding that pregnancy “has to be thought of as an underlying condition”. 

“If they end up coming in to hospital because of symptoms, they have a 10% risk of ICU admission, which is quite something. 

Murphy also said that the HSE are developing pop-up vaccine clinics at maternity hospitals this week.

The clinics would be open to all women of any gestation who are not fully vaccinated, as well as their partners, other gynecology patients and staff members. 

This afternoon, public health officials confirmed 1,845 new cases of Covid-19 in Ireland.

There are 497 Covid-19 patients in hospital, of which 99 are in ICU. 

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    Mute Fergal McDonagh
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    Oct 29th 2014, 8:50 AM

    Hardly ‘fleeing’. Walking away at their own leisurely pace I’d imagine.

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    Mute Barney r
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    Oct 29th 2014, 9:40 AM

    Just dont have a nap on the way

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    Mute Dublinjonny_No.2
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    Oct 29th 2014, 8:49 AM

    Leave the kids and missus they would only slow me down

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    Mute Jenta deuto
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    Oct 29th 2014, 9:18 AM

    Would it not be possible to build a concrete reinforced gulley to divert the lava flow off course toward the ocean.

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    Mute family guy
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    Oct 29th 2014, 10:32 AM

    Jenta can’t tell if your being sarcastic or serious? That would never work as lava cools as it flows and would block any gully/channel and the lava would eventually flow over itself

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    Mute family guy
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    Oct 29th 2014, 10:35 AM

    Also your spending millions on something that would only be used maybe once in a hundred years, has to be maintained, would be an eye sore. There is a reason nobody has done it before.

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    Mute terayon100
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    Oct 29th 2014, 10:59 AM

    Right, I’ll get Tommy Lee Jones on it straight away!

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    Mute SeanieRyan
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    Oct 29th 2014, 1:16 PM

    They saved a town in Iceland with something similar a few decades ago.

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    Mute Ian Aston
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    Oct 29th 2014, 3:02 PM

    Why is there nobody poking sticks into it?

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    Mute Smiley
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    Oct 29th 2014, 10:46 AM

    At the risk of sounding cynical, Kilauea isn’t doing anything it hasn’t always done. That’s how an undersea volcano came to be an island. Kilauea’s lava flows are always really slow, above ground, so there’s time for people to evacuate in safety. Stunning. Would love to visit.

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    Mute Kevin Higgins
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    Oct 29th 2014, 11:41 AM

    I reckon all lava is deadly

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