Pregnant women with Covid-19 are 50% more likely to suffer complications

Pregnant women who become infected with Covid-19 are 50% more likely to suffer complications such as premature birth or preeclampsia and to require ICU care.

The Oxford University-led INTERCOVID study, which 100 researchers from 43 hospitals including the Catalan capital's Vall d'Hebron participated in, concludes that the virus poses a much higher risk of adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes than previously known.

"There were reports of an increase in certain complications, but this study reveals their magnitude," says Vall d'Hebron researcher Nerea Maiz.

"Between 75% and 85% of pregnant women who have Covid-19 are asymptomatic," her colleague, Anna Suy, adds. "But those who do have symptoms are more likely to be hospitalized. And those who are hospitalized are more likely to end up in ICUs and to require respiratory support."

These women also face a higher risk of death, "although absolute numbers are very low," Suy explains.

2130 pregnant women in 18 countries took part in this cohort study from March to October 2020, of which a third had a PCR test confirming a positive Covid-19 diagnosis. Each Covid-positive expectant mother was compared with two other pregnant women treated at the same hospital who did not have the virus. 

Women with the virus "were at increased risk of a composite maternal morbidity and mortality index," the INTERCOVID report published in JAMA Pediatrics concludes. Additionally, newborns of Covid-positive mothers also had a "significantly higher severe neonatal morbidity index and severe perinatal morbidity and mortality index."