Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Jun 8:369:m2107.
doi: 10.1136/bmj.m2107.

Characteristics and outcomes of pregnant women admitted to hospital with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection in UK: national population based cohort study

Marian Knight  1 , Kathryn Bunch  2 , Nicola Vousden  3 , Edward Morris  4 , Nigel Simpson  5 , Chris Gale  6 , Patrick O'Brien  7 , Maria Quigley  2 , Peter Brocklehurst  8 , Jennifer J Kurinczuk  2 ; UK Obstetric Surveillance System SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Pregnancy Collaborative Group
Affiliations

Characteristics and outcomes of pregnant women admitted to hospital with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection in UK: national population based cohort study

Marian Knight et al. BMJ. .

Abstract

Objectives: To describe a national cohort of pregnant women admitted to hospital with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in the UK, identify factors associated with infection, and describe outcomes, including transmission of infection, for mothers and infants.

Design: Prospective national population based cohort study using the UK Obstetric Surveillance System (UKOSS).

Setting: All 194 obstetric units in the UK.

Participants: 427 pregnant women admitted to hospital with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection between 1 March 2020 and 14 April 2020.

Main outcome measures: Incidence of maternal hospital admission and infant infection. Rates of maternal death, level 3 critical care unit admission, fetal loss, caesarean birth, preterm birth, stillbirth, early neonatal death, and neonatal unit admission.

Results: The estimated incidence of admission to hospital with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnancy was 4.9 (95% confidence interval 4.5 to 5.4) per 1000 maternities. 233 (56%) pregnant women admitted to hospital with SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnancy were from black or other ethnic minority groups, 281 (69%) were overweight or obese, 175 (41%) were aged 35 or over, and 145 (34%) had pre-existing comorbidities. 266 (62%) women gave birth or had a pregnancy loss; 196 (73%) gave birth at term. Forty one (10%) women admitted to hospital needed respiratory support, and five (1%) women died. Twelve (5%) of 265 infants tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 RNA, six of them within the first 12 hours after birth.

Conclusions: Most pregnant women admitted to hospital with SARS-CoV-2 infection were in the late second or third trimester, supporting guidance for continued social distancing measures in later pregnancy. Most had good outcomes, and transmission of SARS-CoV-2 to infants was uncommon. The high proportion of women from black or minority ethnic groups admitted with infection needs urgent investigation and explanation.

Study registration: ISRCTN 40092247.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form at http://www.icmje.org/coi_disclosure.pdf and declare: MK, MQ, PB, POB, and JJK received grants from the NIHR in relation to the submitted work; EM is trustee and president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, trustee of the British Menopause Society, and chair of the Multiprofessional Advisory Committee, Baby Lifeline; no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1
Maternal symptoms at diagnosis of covid-19
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

References

    1. World Health Organization. Rolling updates on coronavirus disease (covid-19). 2020. https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/events-a....
    1. Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and The Royal College of Midwives Coronavirus (covid-19) infection in pregnancy: information for healthcare professionals. Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, 2020.
    1. Chen Y, Li Z, Zhang YY, Zhao WH, Yu ZY. Maternal health care management during the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019. J Med Virol 2020. . 10.1002/jmv.25787 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Favre G, Pomar L, Musso D, Baud D. 2019-nCoV epidemic: what about pregnancies? Lancet 2020;395:e40. . 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30311-1 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. ANZIC Influenza Investigators and Australasian Maternity Outcomes Surveillance System Critical illness due to 2009 A/H1N1 influenza in pregnant and postpartum women: population based cohort study. BMJ 2010;340:c1279. . 10.1136/bmj.c1279 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

MeSH terms