This edition of our journal focuses on the global health crisis created by the COVID-19 pandemic, a new challenge all over the world. Although this pathology is not completely understood and its perinatal complications are not entirely well known, it should be necessary to create a protocol to prevent and manage this disease. Thus, the first paper presents the experience of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of the Bucharest University Emergency Hospital regarding pregnant patients associating SARS-CoV-2 infection, pointing out that pregnant women are vulnerable to the SARS-CoV-2 infection, due to the changes in the immunological status they undergo during pregnancy.
The next paper brings to the fore the Down syndrome as the most common viable chromosomal anomaly to be diagnosed during pregnancy. Understanding the impact of a national screening policy for Down syndrome in Romania is useful for rationale population wide testing strategies.
The field of using noninvasive prenatal diagnosis as the main purpose in the detection of certain fetal genetic disorders remains a subject of great interest and it is possible due to the passage of fetal nucleated cells into the maternal blood. But it is important to know that there are studies which report important false-positive rates associated to these tests, therefore several key points are recommended to be followed when offering cell-free DNA as a screening test, as well as a genetic counseling to the parents before testing.
The gynecology section presents imaging and surgical mapping in endometriosis, concluding that there is no imaging method that can be used individually and effectively enough to identify the location and extent of endometriosis. The performance of these imaging procedures should be considered depending on the type of suspected endometriosis, the proposed therapeutic strategy, and the information to be provided to the patient.
Moving on, as endometriosis is a common multifocal gynecologic disease that manifests during the reproductive years, often causing chronic pelvic pain and infertility, it is important to be diagnosed properly in order to start the patient’s counseling and treatment planning. Despite some limitations, magnetic resonance imaging is able to directly demonstrate deep pelvic endometriosis.
Furthermore, the next paper evaluates the effectiveness of laparoscopic colorectal resection in cases of deep endometriosis, concluding that laparoscopic segmental colorectal resection for endometriosis significantly improves the quality of life and the gynecological and digestive symptoms.
Every day, we see more and more data which confirm that vaccination in pregnancy brings clear benefits for the mother and neonate, and the side effects are minimal. Vaccines can save lives. So, let’s counsel our pregnant patients, considering all this evidence. This is the reason why I chose the title above, even though we have no specific article on vaccination in pregnancy.