Official advice has been issued for those concerned about being pregnant as cases of coronavirus continue to spread.
The number of UK cases of COVID-19 has risen to 206, according to the latest figures published by The Department of Health and Social Care today, March 7.
A man in his early 80s became the second person to die in the UK after testing positive for coronavirus.
Concern for the fast spreading disease is growing all over the country, especially among groups of people who believe they could have an increased risk.
Many social media groups aimed at parents and mums are full of posts concerning contracting the virus and all the risks it may cause to their children.
There are worries over whether or not breastfeeding is safe, if pregnant women are more susceptible, and questions on how to protect their unborn child or new baby.
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in the UK issued a statement to say they would be offering official advice on the fast spreading disease and infection in pregnancy soon.
They said: "In the coming days, guidance for healthcare professionals on Coronavirus (COVID-19) infection in pregnancy will be published by the RCOG, Royal College of Midwives, Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, Public Health England and Health Protection Scotland.
"The guidance will be updated on a regular basis as new data becomes available."
However a government-run agency in the US, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is already offering some advice on pregnancy and the spread of COVID-19. Here are some of the answers they gave about the virus:
Are pregnant women more susceptible to infection, or at increased risk for severe illness, morbidity, or mortality with COVID-19, compared with the general public?
"We do not have information from published scientific reports about susceptibility of pregnant women to COVID-19. Pregnant women experience immunologic and physiologic changes which might make them more susceptible to viral respiratory infections, including COVID-19.
"Pregnant women also might be at risk for severe illness, morbidity, or mortality compared to the general population as observed in cases of other related coronavirus infections [including severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV)] and other viral respiratory infections, such as influenza, during pregnancy."
"Pregnant women should engage in usual preventive actions to avoid infection like washing hands often and avoiding people who are sick."
Are pregnant women with COVID-19 at increased risk for adverse pregnancy outcomes?
"We do not have information on adverse pregnancy outcomes in pregnant women with COVID-19. Pregnancy loss, including miscarriage and stillbirth, has been observed in cases of infection with other related coronaviruses [SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV] during pregnancy.
"High fevers during the first trimester of pregnancy can increase the risk of certain birth defects."
Can pregnant women with COVID-19 pass the virus to their fetus or newborn (i.e. vertical transmission)?
"The virus that causes COVID-19 is thought to spread mainly by close contact with an infected person through respiratory droplets.
"Whether a pregnant woman with COVID-19 can transmit the virus that causes COVID-19 to her fetus or neonate by other routes of vertical transmission (before, during, or after delivery) is still unknown.
"However, in limited recent case series of infants born to mothers with COVID-19 published in the peer-reviewed literature, none of the infants have tested positive for the virus that causes COVID-19. Additionally, virus was not detected in samples of amniotic fluid or breastmilk.
"Limited information is available about vertical transmission for other coronaviruses (MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV) but vertical transmission has not been reported for these infections."
Is maternal illness with COVID-19 during lactation associated with potential risk to a breastfeeding infant?
"Human-to-human transmission by close contact with a person with confirmed COVID-19 has been reported and is thought to occur mainly via respiratory droplets produced when a person with infection coughs or sneezes.
"In limited case series reported to date, no evidence of virus has been found in the breast milk of women with COVID-19. No information is available on the transmission of the virus that causes COVID-19 through breast milk (i.e., whether infectious virus is present in the breast milk of an infected woman).
"In limited reports of lactating women infected with SARS-CoV, virus has not been detected in breast milk; however, antibodies against SARS-CoV were detected in at least one sample."