Meghan McCain announces she is pregnant
"The View" co-host Meghan McCain announced Sunday on Twitter that she is expecting a baby with husband Ben Domenech. McCain also told her followers she will now be self-isolating "as a precaution to prevent the spread of COVID-19" and will appear on "The View" from home via satellite.
"My husband Ben and I have been blessed to find out I'm pregnant," said McCain, the daughter of late Senator John McCain, in the tweet. "Although this isn't how I expected to announce my pregnancy, both we and our families are excited to share the news with you all."
McCain's announcement comes just months after she opened up about suffering a miscarriage last summer. She wrote in an op-ed for The New York Times that she shared her story to de-stigmatize the "distressingly common" experience. "We deserve the opportunity to speak openly of them, to share what they were and to mourn," she wrote at the time.
The TV host explained that she is now taking extra precautions to avoid contracting the novel coronavirus.
"I consulted with my doctors and they advised me that for the safety of our baby and myself, I should be extra vigilant about limiting the amount of people we come in contact with. Starting immediately, I'll be joining millions of Americans who are self-isolating as a precaution to prevent the spread of COVID-19. As a result, I will be appearing on 'The View' from home via satellite."
Concluding her tweet, McCain thanked "the heroes" who are "on the front lines" of the coronavirus pandemic, and reminded her fans to wash their hands and practice social distancing themselves.
CBS News medical contributor Dr. Tara Narula recently spoke to "CBS This Morning" about what coronavirus means for pregnant women.
"You know, unfortunately this virus has only been around for a couple of months, so we really don't have the long-term data to tell us a lot," Narula said. "So far, it does not seem that pregnant women are more at risk or will suffer more severe disease. That being said, with viral illnesses like the flu, for example, women who are pregnant can develop more severe disease. We need a lot more data to inform us."
She also said that it does not appear at this point in time that pregnant women can pass the virus on to the baby.
McCain joins an ever-growing list of co-workers appearing on the show from their homes amid the coronavirus pandemic. Last week, co-host Whoopi Goldberg began moderating the show from home as a precaution. Longtime host Joy Behar also announced earlier this month she would be taking time away from the show as a precautionary measure, reports ABC.
The number of coronavirus cases stands at over 335,000 globally as of Sunday night, according to Johns Hopkins University. There have been over 14,500 deaths and more than 98,300 people have recovered.
