Cytomegalovirus infection prevention counselling during pregnancy in France: a national population-based study

Abstract

Background: Congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection can cause sensorineural impairment in children. Our primary objective is to estimate the proportion of women in France who received counselling from health-care providers about preventing CMV transmission during pregnancy, and our secondary objective to identify factors associated with their receiving this counselling.

Methods: Using data collected at childbirth in France from women included in the 2021 national perinatal survey (ENP), we first estimated the proportion of women who received counselling about preventing CMV infection during pregnancy and then used univariate and multivariate analyses to compare maternal characteristics between women who reported such counselling and those reporting not being counselled or not remembering.

Findings: Among the 10 866 women interviewed, 1737 (16·0%) reported being counselled about CMV during pregnancy. Those less likely to have been counselled were born in North African or Sub-Saharan countries (respectively, adjusted odds ratio 0·49, 95%CI 0·34-0·71 and 0·58, 95%CI 0·37-0.89) compared to women born in France, and those with a low educational level (0·56, 95%CI, 0·48-0·66 for women with high-school level, compared to women with 3 years or more postsecondary schooling). Primiparous, compared with multiparous, women were less likely to have been counselled (ORa 0·61, 95%CI 0·53-0·69).

Interpretation: Too few women receive counselling about CMV prevention during pregnancy. The women least informed were less educated and more socially vulnerable. They are probably also the women who have the least access to preventive health information.

Funding: The French ENP were supported by the Ministry of Health and Santé Publique France.

Keywords: CMV; infection; information; pregnancy; prevention.