There is little data available on how the coronavirus, which causes a respiratory illness known as COVID-19, affects pregnant women. Women experience physiological changes during pregnancy that can weaken their immune systems and place them at higher risk for severe complications if exposed to viruses, especially if they have underlying heath conditions.

Past studies have shown that pregnant women who contract influenza are at higher risk for severe complications, and in 2009, women who contracted H1N1 — the swine flu — during pregnancy also became sicker than non-pregnant women.