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. 2020 Sep 23;69(38):1355-1359.
doi: 10.15585/mmwr.mm6938e2.

SARS-CoV-2 Infection Among Hospitalized Pregnant Women: Reasons for Admission and Pregnancy Characteristics - Eight U.S. Health Care Centers, March 1-May 30, 2020

Lakshmi Panagiotakopoulos, Tanya R Myers, Julianne Gee, Heather S Lipkind, Elyse O Kharbanda, Denison S Ryan, Joshua T B Williams, Allison L Naleway, Nicola P Klein, Simon J Hambidge, Steven J Jacobsen, Jason M Glanz, Lisa A Jackson, Tom T Shimabukuro, Eric S Weintraub

SARS-CoV-2 Infection Among Hospitalized Pregnant Women: Reasons for Admission and Pregnancy Characteristics - Eight U.S. Health Care Centers, March 1-May 30, 2020

Lakshmi Panagiotakopoulos et al. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. .

Abstract

Pregnant women might be at increased risk for severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), possibly related to changes in their immune system and respiratory physiology* (1). Further, adverse birth outcomes, such as preterm delivery and stillbirth, might be more common among pregnant women infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 (2,3). Information about SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy is rapidly growing; however, data on reasons for hospital admission, pregnancy-specific characteristics, and birth outcomes among pregnant women hospitalized with SARS-CoV-2 infections are limited. During March 1-May 30, 2020, as part of Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD)† surveillance of COVID-19 hospitalizations, 105 hospitalized pregnant women with SARS-CoV-2 infection were identified, including 62 (59%) hospitalized for obstetric reasons (i.e., labor and delivery or another pregnancy-related indication) and 43 (41%) hospitalized for COVID-19 illness without an obstetric reason. Overall, 50 (81%) of 62 pregnant women with SARS-CoV-2 infection who were admitted for obstetric reasons were asymptomatic. Among 43 pregnant women hospitalized for COVID-19, 13 (30%) required intensive care unit (ICU) admission, six (14%) required mechanical ventilation, and one died from COVID-19. Prepregnancy obesity was more common (44%) among pregnant women hospitalized for COVID-19 than that among asymptomatic pregnant women hospitalized for obstetric reasons (31%). Likewise, the rate of gestational diabetes (26%) among pregnant women hospitalized for COVID-19 was higher than it was among women hospitalized for obstetric reasons (8%). Preterm delivery occurred in 15% of pregnancies among 93 women who delivered, and stillbirths (fetal death at ≥20 weeks' gestation) occurred in 3%. Antenatal counseling emphasizing preventive measures (e.g., use of masks, frequent hand washing, and social distancing) might help prevent COVID-19 among pregnant women,§ especially those with prepregnancy obesity and gestational diabetes, which might reduce adverse pregnancy outcomes.

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Conflict of interest statement

All authors have completed and submitted the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors form for disclosure of potential conflicts of interest. Denison S. Ryan reports grants from Amgen, Merck & Co., and Radius Health and other support from O.N. Diagnostics outside the submitted work. Allison L. Naleway reports grants from Pfizer outside the submitted work. Nicola P. Klein reports grants from Sanofi Pasteur, GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, Merck & Co., and Protein Science outside the submitted work. No other potential conflicts of interest were disclosed.

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