Abstract
BackgroundEvidence concerning the long-term impact of Covid-19 in pregnancy on mother’s psychological disorder and infant’s developmental delay is unknown.MethodsThis study is a longitudinal single-arm cohort study conducted in China between May 1 and July 31, 2020. Seventy-two pregnant patients with Covid-19 participated in follow-up surveys until 3 months after giving birth (57 cases) or having abortion (15 cases). We collected data from medical records regarding Covid-19, delivery or abortion, testing results of maternal and neonatal specimens, and questionnaires of quarantine, mother–baby separation, feeding, and measuring of mothers’ mental disorders and infants’ neurobehavioral disorders.ResultsAll cases infected in the first trimester and 1/3 of cases infected in the second trimester had an abortion to terminate the pregnancy. 22.2% of pregnant patients were suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder or depression at 3 months after delivery or induced abortion. Among 57 live births, only one neonate was positive of nucleic acid testing for throat swab, but negative in repeated tests subsequently. The median duration of mother–baby separation was 35 days (interquartile range 16 to 52 days). After the termination of maternal quarantine, 49.1% of mothers chose to prolong the mother–baby separation (median 8 days; IQR 5 to 23 days). The breastfeeding rate was 8.8% at 1 week after birth, 19.3% at the age of 1 month, and 36.8% at the age of 3 months, respectively. The proportion of “monitoring” and “risk” in the social–emotional developmental domain at the age of 3 months was 22.7% and 63.6%, respectively. After the adjustment of preterm, neonatal sex, admitted to NICU, and the mother’s Covid-19 condition, the negative associations were significantly identified (p < 0.05) between mother–baby separation days and three developmental domains: communication, gross motor, and personal–social.ConclusionsThere is no definite evidence on vertical transmission of SARS-CoV-2. In addition to control infection risk, researchers and healthcare providers should pay more attention to maternal mental health and infant’s feeding, closeness with parents, and early development.
Highlights
Evidence concerning the long-term impact of Covid-19 in pregnancy on mother’s psychological disorder and infant’s developmental delay is unknown
There is no definite evidence on vertical transmission of Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-CoV-2
The inclusion criteria include the following: (1) a confirmed case of Covid-19 was defined as a suspected case with a positive result on high-throughput sequencing or real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay of nasal and pharyngeal swab specimens; (2) a pregnant woman was diagnosed with Covid-19; (3) the onset of Covid-19 was in the pregnancy period; and (4) informed consent was obtained from the pregnant woman
Summary
Evidence concerning the long-term impact of Covid-19 in pregnancy on mother’s psychological disorder and infant’s developmental delay is unknown. Coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV2). The Covid-19 pandemic would result in additional maternal and child deaths due to the potential disruption of health systems and decreased access to food, in low-income and middle-income countries [6]. Besides such direct and indirect effects on the body’s physical health, evidence concerning the impact of Covid-19 in pregnancy on the neuropsychological function of pregnant patients and their offspring is unknown
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