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
Observational Study
. 2022 Oct;42(10):1338-1345.
doi: 10.1038/s41372-022-01446-x. Epub 2022 Jul 1.

Perinatal COVID-19 maternal and neonatal outcomes at two academic birth hospitals

Dustin D Flannery  1   2   3 , Alvaro Zevallos Barboza  4 , Madeline R Pfeifer  4 , Mark L Hudak  5 , Kimberly Barnette  5 , Trace R Getzlaff  5 , Sascha R Ellington  6 , Kate R Woodworth  6 , Miren B Dhudasia  4   7 , Sagori Mukhopadhyay  4   8   7 , Danielle D Weinberg  4 , Elizabeth E Foglia  4   8 , Karen M Puopolo  4   8   7
Affiliations
Observational Study

Perinatal COVID-19 maternal and neonatal outcomes at two academic birth hospitals

Dustin D Flannery et al. J Perinatol. 2022 Oct.

Abstract

Objective: Describe 1-month outcomes among newborns of persons with perinatal COVID-19.

Study design: Prospective observational study of pregnant persons who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 between 14 days before and 3 days after delivery and their newborns, from 3/2020 to 3/2021 at two urban high-risk academic hospitals. Phone interviews were conducted to determine 1-month newborn outcomes.

Results: Among 9748 pregnant persons, 209 (2.1%) tested positive for perinatal SARS-CoV-2. Symptomatically infected persons were more likely to have a preterm delivery due to worsening maternal condition and their newborns were more likely to test positive for SARS-CoV-2 compared with asymptomatic persons. Six of 191 (3.1%) infants tested were positive for SARS-CoV-2; none had attributable illness before discharge. Of 169 eligible families, 132 (78.1%) participated in post-discharge interviews; none reported their newborn tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 by 1 month of age.

Conclusion: Symptomatic perinatal COVID-19 had a substantial effect on maternal health but no apparent short-term effect on newborns.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors report there are competing financial interests in relation to the work described. DDF reports receiving grant funding from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (K08HS027468), the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and from two research contracts with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. MLH reports research funding from the National Institutes of Health. EEF reports receiving grant funding from the National Institutes of Health (K23HD084727). KMP reports receiving research funding from the National Institutes of Health, from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and from two contracts with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1. Study flow diagram of pregnant persons with SARS-CoV-2 infection and their infants from two academic birth hospitals.
Perinatal transmission was defined as infection 14 days before delivery to 3 days after delivery. SARS-CoV-2 severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2, NICU neonatal intensive care unit.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Dong L, Tian J, He S, Zhu C, Wang J, Liu C, et al. Possible vertical transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from an infected mother to her newborn. JAMA. 2020;323:1846–8. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Chen H, Guo J, Wang C, Luo F, Yu X, Zhang W, et al. Clinical characteristics and intrauterine vertical transmission potential of COVID-19 infection in nine pregnant women: a retrospective review of medical records. Lancet. 2020;395:809–15. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30360-3. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Zhu H, Wang L, Fang C, Peng S, Zhang L, Chang G, et al. Clinical analysis of 10 neonates born to mothers with 2019-nCoV pneumonia. Transl Pediatr. 2020;1:51–60. doi: 10.21037/tp.2020.02.06. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Zeng L, Xia S, Yuan W, Yan K, Xiao F, Shao J, et al. Neonatal early-onset infection with SARS-CoV-2 in 33 neonates born to mothers with COVID-19 in Wuhan, China. JAMA Pediatr. 2020. 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2020.0878. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Flannery DD, Puopolo KM. Perinatal COVID-19: guideline development, implementation, and challenges. Curr Opin Pediatr. 2021;33:188–94. doi: 10.1097/MOP.0000000000000997. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types