Obstetrical and neonatal outcome of pregnancies complicated with SARS-CoV-2 infection

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has an impact without precedent. Pregnant women are part of the vulnerable population and the extent of SARS-CoV-2 infection consequences on pregnancy outcome and on neonatal prognosis are still studied. It has been speculated, based on what is known about other pathogenic viruses, that SARS-CoV-2 can interfere with placental defense mechanisms and increase the abortion and preterm birth rate. Often, pregnant women infected with SARS-CoV-2 develop mild pneumonia; however, severe pneumonia occurs very rarely and is statistically significantly related to neonatal death. Our study was conducted in a multidisciplinary hospital unit and included 90 pregnant women with SARS-CoV-2 infection, diagnosed through polymerase chain reaction. Data regarding the maternal symptomatology, the gestational age, the way of giving birth, complications that have occurred during birth, the weight at birth and neonatal outcome have been analyzed. No cases of infection with severe clinical impact has been included in the study, only 20% of patients presenting a mild symptomatology. We found an increased rate of preterm birth and intrauterine growth restriction and a high incidence of acute fetal distress followed by caesarean section. SARS-CoV-2 has a chain effects on both the mother and the fetus, as a whole and, subsequently, individually. Our results revealed the adverse obstetrical and neonatal outcome in the prenatal period complicated with SARS-CoV-2 infection, even in asymptomatic and mild-symptomatic cases.