Inclusion Criteria:
Thirty six healty pregnant women who had COVID-19 infection with mild to
moderate symptoms according to The National Institutes of Health (NIH)
classification in the second trimester of pregnancy were included in the
patient group (COVID group)[10,11]. Infection was confirmed with a
reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test with
nasopharyngeal swab in all patients and none of them hospitalized. Six
weeks after recovery, fetal echocardiogram performed. During the same
period, thirty gestational and maternal age-matched unvaccinated
pregnant women monitored for routine prenatal care who had no history or
symptoms of COVID-19 infection included in control group (CONTROL
group). Pregnant women with chronic systemic diseases (diabetes
mellitus, hypertension, chronic renal failure), gestational diabetes,
smokers, and those with fetal anomalies, fetal growth restriction,
multifetal pregnancy were excluded the study. On the postnatal period,
pregnancies complicated by preterm delivery before
37th week and neonatal intensive care unit admission
(NICU) were not included. The patients’ descriptive data were recorded.
Seven participants were excluded from the study due to preterm birth
(One delivered at 33th, four delivered at
35th, 2 delivered at 36th GW), 3
participants were excluded from the study due to the NICU admission for
respiratory distress although they were term born. The participants who
met the study criteria but did not continue postnatal follow-up excluded
from study data (8 patients and 5 controls). The first postnatal echo
was performed within the first two weeks, after 4thday of life for ductus closure. The follow-up (second) echo was
performed at 6-8 weeks of life for the pulmonary pressure to return to
normal.