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Do timing and severity of gestational COVID-19 impact perinatal and neonatal outcomes?

Journal of Perinatology (2024)Cite this article

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Abstract

Objective

To examine the relationship between gestational COVID-19 and perinatal-neonatal outcomes.

Study design

Prospective cohort study. Neonates born at Hospital del Mar (Barcelona) between 2020 and 2022 were classified into two cohorts according to their mother’s COVID-19 status during pregnancy. Prenatal and postnatal variables were compared between the COVID-19 and the control cohort, and depending on timing and severity of maternal infection.

Results

We included 2701 neonates and observed higher rates of respiratory distress (5.7% vs 3.3%, p = 0.044) and pathological jaundice (7.7% vs 4.1%, p = 0.007) in the COVID-19 cohort, without differences between trimesters. We did not find statistically significant differences in other perinatal outcomes. The logistic regression analyses showed that maternal COVID-19 was not a risk factor for prematurity (OR:1.23;CI:0.75–2.03; p = 0.407).

Conclusions

Infants born to mothers with COVID-19 during pregnancy in our hospital showed higher rates of respiratory distress and pathological jaundice, without increased rates of prematurity or other morbidities.

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Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study can be provided from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank all the staff as well as the participating families. We are thankful to Xavier Duran for his help with the statistical analysis, and to Alba Candel and Irene Manero for proofreading this manuscript and helping with the English language.

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Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally: Júlia Candel-Pau, Daniel Suqué-Tusell

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neonatology, Service of Pediatrics, Hospital del Mar Barcelona, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Passeig Marítim 25-29, 08003, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

    Júlia Candel-Pau, Daniel Suqué-Tusell, Sílvia Maya-Enero, Carlos Ramon-Iglesias, Beatriz Valle-del-Barrio & Maria Ángeles López-Vílchez

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  1. Júlia Candel-Pau
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Contributions

JC-P conceptualized and designed the study, designed the data collecting instruments, collected data, coordinated and supervised data collection, assisted with statistical analyses, interpreted the results, helped draft the initial manuscript and approved the final manuscript. DS-T helped in the conception and design of the study, helped in the design of the data collecting instruments, collected data, performed the statistical analyses, interpreted the results, drafted the initial manuscript and approved the final manuscript. SM-E collected data, helped interpret the results of the study, reviewed and revised the manuscript and approved the final manuscript. CR-I collected data, helped interpret the results of the study, reviewed and revised the manuscript and approved the final manuscript. BV-dB helped interpret the results of the study, reviewed and revised the manuscript and approved the final manuscript. MÁL-V helped interpret the results of the study, reviewed and revised the manuscript and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Júlia Candel-Pau.

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Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Ethics approval

This study was conducted in line with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. All methods were performed in accordance with the relevant guidelines and regulations. Approval was granted by the Ethics Committee of Hospital del Mar (ref. 2022/10495).

Consent to participate

Informed parental consent was obtained from all individual participants as required by the Ethics Committee of Hospital del Mar (ref. 2022/10495).

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Candel-Pau, J., Suqué-Tusell, D., Maya-Enero, S. et al. Do timing and severity of gestational COVID-19 impact perinatal and neonatal outcomes?. J Perinatol (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41372-024-02179-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41372-024-02179-9

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