Brazil urges women to delay pregnancy over claims new variant is more dangerous to expectant mothers

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Women should postpone pregnancy until the coronavirus pandemic has passed, health officials in Brazil have warned. 

The Secretary of Primary Health Care of the Brazilian health ministry, Raphael Camara has said that the variants of covid in Brazil is more dangerous to expectant mothers. 

'If possible [the women should] postpone the pregnancy a bit to a better time so that [they] can have a more peaceful pregnancy,' he said in a press conference on Friday. 

He added that the ministry is now working on studies on the issue of pregnancy and variants of the virus. 

'The clinical view of experts shows that the new variant has a more aggressive action on pregnant women,' he said. 

'Before, [severity] was linked to the end of the pregnancy, but now [they] see a more serious evolution in the second trimester and even in the first trimester..'

Brazil has the second highest recorded deaths related to covid, second only to the US, with 368,749 deaths and more than 13.8million cases. 

It could be down to a new variant of the virus, which is believed to be extra contagious. 

Public health experts have also warned that the country could be headed for more difficult times due to inaction and political issues.