Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 14, 2025
Assessment and Evaluation of the High Risk Neonate: The NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale
Published on: August 25, 2014
Illness severity indicators in newborns by COVID-19 status in the United States, March-December 2020
Bailey Wallace1, Daniel Chang2,3, Kate Woodworth2
1COVID-19 Response, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA. eocevent397@cdc.gov.
Objective:
To better understand COVID-19 in newborns, we compared in-hospital illness severity indicators by COVID-19 status during birth hospitalization.
Study Design:
In a retrospective cohort of newborns born March-December 2020 in the Premier Healthcare Database Special COVID-19 Release, we classified COVID-19 status and severe illness indicators using ICD-CM-10 codes, laboratory data, and billing records. Illness severity indicators were compared by COVID-19 status, stratified by gestational age and race/ethnicity.
Result:
Among 701,777 newborns, 209 had a COVID-19 diagnosis during the birth hospitalization. COVID-19 status differed significantly by race/ethnicity, gestational age, payor, and region. Late preterm/term newborns with COVID-19 had increased intensive care unit admission and sepsis risk; early preterm newborns with COVID-19 had increased risk for invasive ventilation. Risk for illness severity varied among racial/ethnic strata.
Conclusion:
From March to December 2020, COVID-19 diagnosis in newborns was rare. More clinical data are needed to describe the risk profiles of newborns with COVID-19.
