Retrospective Analysis of the Impact of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) on Pregnancy and Neonatal Outcomes

• Published in: Journal of pregnancy 2024-08, Vol.2024 (1), p.1177119
• Main Authors: Sero, Leyla, Okur, Nilufer, Tunçel, Duygu, Talay, Mehmet Nur, Aydın, Mustafa Fırat, Oglak, Suleyman Cemil
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Abortion, Spontaneous - epidemiology; Abortion, Spontaneous - virology; Adult; Age; Apgar score; Asymptomatic; Babies; Birth weight; Childbirth & labor; COVID-19; COVID-19 - epidemiology; COVID-19 - mortality; Disease transmission; Diseases; Female; Fetuses; Gestational diabetes; Hospitalization; Humans; Infant, Newborn; Infants; Infants (Newborn); Infections; Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical - statistics & numerical data; Intensive care; Laboratories; Maternal mortality; Miscarriage; Mothers; Neonates; Newborn babies; Patient outcomes; Preeclampsia; Pregnancy; Pregnancy Complications, Infectious - epidemiology; Pregnancy Outcome - epidemiology; Pregnancy, Complications of; Premature birth; Retrospective Studies; Risk factors; SARS-CoV-2; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Stillbirth; Stillbirth - epidemiology; Suffocation; Tomography; Turkey - epidemiology
• ISSN: 2090-2727; 2090-2735; 2090-2735
• DOI: 10.1155/2024/1177119

The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was more devastating in people with comorbidities such as advanced age and immunodeficiency. Another group affected by COVID-19 was pregnant women. Immunological changes during pregnancy and conditions such as gestational diabetes and pre-eclampsia that occur during pregnancy also have effects on the fetus. The aim of this study was to analyze the effects of PCR-proven COVID-19 infection during pregnancy on fetus and newborn. Between December 2019 and October 2021, data from pregnant women with COVID-19 symptoms or a history of contact with people with COVID-19, infected with PCR-proven COVID-19 virus, were analyzed retrospectively. Clinical and laboratory data of pregnant women were analyzed. Death data associated with COVID-19 were evaluated. Clinical and laboratory findings of newborns related to COVID-19 and mortality data related to COVID-19 were recorded. The study received approval from the Gazi Yasargil Training and Research Hospital ethics committee (09.07.2021/853). We evaluated 327 pregnant women who were followed up in our hospital and whose deliveries ended in live birth, stillbirth, miscarriage, or curettage. One hundred eighty-five (56.6%) of the pregnant women had at least one COVID-19-related symptom. We evaluated the data of 306 live births, 21 intrauterine fetal deaths, and 13 postnatal deaths. Among the postnatal deaths, five infants succumbed directly due to COVID-19 infection. A total of 23 live-born babies (7.5%) were classified as small for gestational age (SGA), while 80 babies (26.1%) were born before 37 weeks of gestation, and 32 babies (10.4%) were born before 32 weeks. Cord blood gas analysis revealed that 19 infants (6.3%) had pH