Maternal and neonatal outcomes in women with COVID-19: A retrospective cohort study

Considering the conflicting evidence that exists regarding the effect of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on pregnancy and newborn outcomes, it is necessary to conduct this research during the first year in the north of Iran, a highly visited and trafficked place, which increases the possibility of contracting the virus and severity of the infection.

This study aimed to compare maternal and neonatal outcomes in pregnant women with and without COVID-19.

In this retrospective cohort study, data from 160 pregnant women referred to 3 hospitals in Mazandaran, Iran from April 2020 to March 2021 were extracted from their medical records using checklists. Participants were divided into 2 groups: group A) 80 pregnant women with COVID-19 and group B) 80 noninfected pregnant women. All information related to maternal and neonatal outcomes were extracted and compared from the files of the 2 groups. The results obtained from comparing 2 groups of pregnant women from the result of the reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction test were analyzed.

The most common symptoms in the COVID-19 group were fever and cough. Pregnancy complications such as abortion, pre-eclampsia, and premature birth were not significant between groups (p = 0.4, 0.45, 0.45, respectively). No statistically significant difference was observed between groups regarding maternal and neonatal outcomes.

Despite the peak and severity of the COVID-19 disease in the first year of the pandemic, it seems that it had no effect on maternal and neonatal outcomes in each trimester of pregnancy in affected women.