Maternal and perinatal outcomes of vaginal delivery of pregnant women
with COVID-19 in Wuhan
Abstract
Background: Most of the pregnant women with 2019 novel coronavirus
pneumonia are terminated by cesarean section because the risk of
mother-to-child transmission is not yet clear. The aim of this study was
to evaluate maternal and perinatal outcomes of vaginal delivery of
pregnant women with COVID-19 infection. Design: 8 pregnant women who
were suspected or confirmed with COVID-19 infection between 31 January
and 20 April,2020, gave birth vaginally in Wuhan Union hospital were
included. Clinical manifestations, laboratory test results, chest CT
scans and maternal and perinatal outcomes were recorded. Evidence of
perinatal infection of virus was assessed by using SARS-COV-2 associated
coronavirus reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction in neonatal
throat and anal swab samples. Results: None of the 8 pregnant women
experienced dystocia and severe postpartum complications, 8 livebirths
were recorded, no fetal distress or asphyxia was observed. No newborn
infant had clinical COVID-19 and all investigations were negative for
SARS-COV-2. Conclusions: Our study showed that vaginal delivery does not
increase the probability of mother-to-child transmission of
SARS-COV-2,maternal and neonatal outcomes were not affected. We suggest
that pregnant women with COVID-19 pneumonia without severe systemic
complications and respiratory failure can be considered for vaginal
delivery.