PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. – A recent study found that women who are pregnant with boys mount fewer protective antibodies to COVID-19 compared to those expecting girls.
The researchers in Boston discovered that women carrying a male fetus not only produce fewer antibodies to the virus, they also pass along fewer antibodies to the unborn baby.
Regardless of the sex of the fetus, pregnant women are three times more likely to be hospitalized in intensive care if they become infected with COVID-19, and nearly twice as likely to die.
Also in today’s health news, a recent study published by Florida Atlantic University found that people seeking general medical care are becoming more comfortable with advanced practice nurses as their provider, even in the face of push-back by physician associations.
“Freeing up advanced practice nurses actually allows them to do things that they are trained to do and do things in areas where they otherwise couldn’t get care. So if you’re in a remote, rural area, it’s very possible that an advanced practice nurse is the only one they can recruit to come out and do the work, so access is a very big thing,” said Scott Feyereisen, lead author of the study.
While Florida has a large number of advanced practice nurses, the study found they have very little autonomy to do their jobs, ranking 49th out of the 50 states studied.