Pregnancy Outcomes in the COVID-19 Era: An Observational Retrospective Study

Abstract

Background: There are ongoing controversies regarding pregnancy outcomes during the COVID-19 era. Objectives: This observational study with a retrospective design was conducted to investigate the maternal and neonatal impacts of COVID-19 on pregnancy outcomes. Methods: An observational study with a retrospective design was carried out using census sampling from February 2020 to July 2021. The study population included pregnant women who were referred to Asalian Hospital in Khorramabad city, western Iran. A total of 769 mothers (107 with COVID-19 and 662 without COVID-19) were included in the study. Results: The most common symptoms reported by infected mothers were body pain/myalgia (68, 72.3%), fatigue (57, 60.6%), headache (47, 50%), and shivering (46, 48.9%). After adjusting for covariates, the risk of caesarean section (CS) in pregnant women with COVID-19 was found to be 3.2 times higher (95% confidence interval: 1.90 - 5.50). In contrast, the risks of newborn hospitalization, prematurity, low APGAR scores, respiratory distress, and smaller head circumference were higher among newborns of non-COVID-19-infected mothers than those of COVID-19-infected mothers (P < 0.05). Conclusions: While it is generally expected that COVID-19-infected mothers would experience adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes, this retrospective study demonstrated that COVID-19 infection does not result in adverse outcomes for mothers or newborns, apart from a higher rate of CS.