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
Review
. 2020 Nov;84(5):e13332.
doi: 10.1111/aji.13332. Epub 2020 Oct 4.

Severity of COVID-19 in pregnancy: A review of current evidence

Lauren M Kucirka  1 , Alexandra Norton  1 , Jeanne S Sheffield  1
Affiliations
Review

Severity of COVID-19 in pregnancy: A review of current evidence

Lauren M Kucirka et al. Am J Reprod Immunol. 2020 Nov.

Abstract

Coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) has recently emerged as a major threat to human health. Infections range from asymptomatic to severe (increased respiratory rate, hypoxia, significant lung involvement on imaging) or critical (multi-organ failure or dysfunction or respiratory failure requiring mechanical ventilation or high-flow nasal cannula). Current evidence suggests that pregnancy women are at increased risk of severe disease, specifically the need for hospitalization, ICU admission, and mechanical ventilation, and the already complex management of infection with an emerging pathogen may be further complicated by pregnancy. The goal of this review is to provide an overview of what is known about the clinical course of COVID-19 in pregnancy, drawing on (a) experience with other coronaviruses such as SARS and MERS, (b) knowledge of immunologic and physiologic changes in pregnancy and how these might impact infection with SARS-CoV-2, and (c) the current literature reporting outcomes in pregnant women with SARS-CoV-2. We also briefly summarize considerations in management of severe COVID-19 in pregnancy.

Keywords: COVID-19; clinical course; epidemiology; outcomes; pregnancy.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

REFERENCES

    1. WHO. Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Dashboard [Internet]. [cited 2020 May 31]. Available from: https://covid19.who.int/?gclid=CjwKCAjwq832BRA5EiwACvCWsa3654fAbkrx4izh8...
    1. Garg S, Kim L, Whitaker M, et al. Hospitalization rates and characteristics of patients hospitalized with laboratory-confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 - COVID-NET, 14 States, March 1-30, 2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2020;69(15):458-464.
    1. Yancy CW. COVID-19 and African Americans. JAMA. 2020;323(19):1891.
    1. Emeruwa UN, Ona S, Shaman JL, et al. Associations between built environment, neighborhood socioeconomic status, and SARS-CoV-2 infection among pregnant women in New York City. JAMA. 2020;324(4):390.
    1. Addressing health equity during the COVID-19 pandemic [Internet]. [cited 2020 Jul 24]. Available from: https://www.acog.org/clinical-information/policy-and-position-statements...

LinkOut - more resources