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COVID-19 in pregnancy raises risk of preterm birth and severe disease

Key clinical point: Pregnant women with SARS-CoV-2 infections were more likely to have poor pregnancy outcomes and more severe disease.

Major finding: Rates of preterm birth were higher among women with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infections compared with the national average (12.9% vs. 10.2%). Pregnant women with COVID-19 disease were significantly more likely than nonpregnant women to be admitted to intensive care (10.5 per 1,000 cases vs. 3.9 per 1,000 cases).

Study details: The data come from 4,442 pregnant women with COVID-19 and known pregnancy outcomes identified through the Surveillance for Emerging Threats to Mothers and Babies Network (SET-NET), and a second study of 23,434 pregnant women and 386,018 nonpregnant women aged 15-44 years with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 infections identified through the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS).

Disclosures: The studies were supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The researchers had no financial conflicts to disclose. Dr. Bianco had no financial conflicts to disclose.

Citation:

Woodworth KR et al. MMWR. 2020 Nov 2. doi: 10.15585/mmwr.mm6944e2; Zambrano LD et al. MMWR. 2020 Nov 2. doi: 10.15585/mmwr.mm6944e3.