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
. 2020 Aug;136(2):303-312.
doi: 10.1097/AOG.0000000000004010.

Rates of Maternal and Perinatal Mortality and Vertical Transmission in Pregnancies Complicated by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-Co-V-2) Infection: A Systematic Review

Benjamin J F Huntley  1 , Erin S Huntley, Daniele Di Mascio, Tracy Chen, Vincenzo Berghella, Suneet P Chauhan
Affiliations

Rates of Maternal and Perinatal Mortality and Vertical Transmission in Pregnancies Complicated by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-Co-V-2) Infection: A Systematic Review

Benjamin J F Huntley et al. Obstet Gynecol. 2020 Aug.

Abstract

Objective: To ascertain the frequency of maternal and neonatal complications, as well as maternal disease severity, in pregnancies affected by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection.

Data sources: MEDLINE, Ovid, ClinicalTrials.gov, MedRxiv, and Scopus were searched from their inception until April 29, 2020. The analysis was limited to reports with at least 10 pregnant patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection that reported on maternal and neonatal outcomes.

Methods of study selection: Inclusion criteria were pregnant women with a confirmed diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection. A systematic search of the selected databases was performed by implementing a strategy that included the MeSH terms, key words, and word variants for "coronavirus," "SARS-CoV-2," "COVID-19," and "pregnancy.r The primary outcomes were maternal admission to the intensive care unit (ICU), critical disease, and death. Secondary outcomes included rate of preterm birth, cesarean delivery, vertical transmission, and neonatal death. Categorical variables were expressed as percentages with number of cases and 95% CIs.

Tabulation, integration, and results: Of the 99 articles identified, 13 included 538 pregnancies complicated by SARS-CoV-2 infection, with reported outcomes on 435 (80.9%) deliveries. Maternal ICU admission occurred in 3.0% of cases (8/263, 95% CI 1.6-5.9) and maternal critical disease in 1.4% (3/209, 95% CI 0.5-4.1). No maternal deaths were reported (0/348, 95% CI 0.0-1.1). The preterm birth rate was 20.1% (57/284, 95% CI 15.8-25.1), the cesarean delivery rate was 84.7% (332/392, 95% CI 80.8-87.9), the vertical transmission rate was 0.0% (0/310, 95% CI 0.0-1.2), and the neonatal death rate was 0.3% (1/313, 95% CI 0.1-1.8).

Conclusion: With data from early in the pandemic, it is reassuring that there are low rates of maternal and neonatal mortality and vertical transmission with SARS-CoV-2. The preterm birth rate of 20% and the cesarean delivery rate exceeding 80% seems related to geographic practice patterns.

Systematic review registration: PROSPERO, CRD42020181497.

PubMed Disclaimer

Comment in

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Zhu N, Zhang D, Wang W, Li X, Yang B, Song J, et al. A novel coronavirus from patients with pneumonia in China, 2019. N Engl J Med 2020;382:727–33.
    1. Johns Hopkins University & Medicine. Coronavirus resource center. Available at: https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
    1. Zhou F, Yu T, Du R, Fan G, Liu Y, Liu Z, et al. Clinical course and risk factors for mortality of adult inpatients with COVID-19 in Wuhan, China: a retrospective cohort study [published erratum appears in Lancet 2020;395:1038]. Lancet 2020;395:1054–62.
    1. Di Mascio D, Khalil A, Saccone G, Rizzo G, Buca D, Liberati M, et al. Outcome of Coronavirus spectrum infections (SARS, MERS, COVID-19) during pregnancy: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Am J Obstet Gynecol MFM 2020 Mar 25 [Epub ahead of print].
    1. Boelig RC, Manuck T, Oliver EA, Mascio DD, Saccone EA, Bellussi EA, et al. Labor and delivery guidance for COVID-19. Am J Obstet Gynecol MFM 2020;2:100110.

Publication types

MeSH terms