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. 2022 Jul-Aug;137(4):782-789.
doi: 10.1177/00333549221084721. Epub 2022 Apr 23.

Characteristics of People With and Without Laboratory-Confirmed SARS-CoV-2 Infection During Pregnancy, Massachusetts, March 2020-March 2021

Hanna M Shephard  1 , Susan E Manning  1   2   3 , Eirini Nestoridi  1 , Catherine Brown  4 , Mahsa M Yazdy  1
Affiliations

Characteristics of People With and Without Laboratory-Confirmed SARS-CoV-2 Infection During Pregnancy, Massachusetts, March 2020-March 2021

Hanna M Shephard et al. Public Health Rep. 2022 Jul-Aug.

Abstract

Objectives: Pregnant people infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, are at increased risk for severe illness and death compared with nonpregnant people. However, population-based information comparing characteristics of people with and without laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy is limited. We compared the characteristics of people with and without SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy in Massachusetts.

Methods: We compared maternal demographic characteristics, pre-pregnancy conditions, and pregnancy complications of people with and without SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy with completed pregnancies resulting in a live birth in Massachusetts during March 1, 2020-March 31, 2021. We tested for significant differences in the distribution of characteristics of pregnant people by SARS-CoV-2 infection status overall and stratified by race and ethnicity. We used modified Poisson regression analyses to examine the association between race and ethnicity and SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy.

Results: Of 69 960 completed pregnancies identified during the study period, 3119 (4.5%) had laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy. Risk for SARS-CoV-2 infection was higher among Hispanic (adjusted risk ratio [aRR] = 2.3; 95% CI, 2.1-2.6) and non-Hispanic Black (aRR = 1.9; 95% CI, 1.7-2.1) pregnant people compared with non-Hispanic White pregnant people.

Conclusions: This study demonstrates the disproportionate impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection on Hispanic and non-Hispanic Black pregnant people in Massachusetts, which may widen existent inequities in maternal morbidity and mortality. Future research is needed to elucidate the structural factors leading to these inequities.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; emerging infectious diseases; pregnancy; public health practice; racial disparities; surveillance.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interests: The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

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