A new coronavirus infection in pregnant women: risks for the mother and the newborn

Abstract

A review of the literature is devoted to the information on the effect of a new coronavirus infection (COVID-19) on the course of pregnancy, the possibility of vertical transmission of the virus from mother to fetus and the condition of the neonates. A review of the literature reveals similarities in the clinical manifestations of COVID-19 in pregnant and non-pregnant women. However, pregnant women are reported to have an increased risk of ICU admission and need for ventilatory support in various countries. Trans-placental transmission from the mother to the fetus has been widely reported. Preterm birth is now common among pregnancy outcomes, especially in women who have had moderate to severe COVID-19. In the assessment of newborns born to mothers with COVID-19, prematurity, hypoxic conditions and respiratory disorders predominated. Further study of the pathogenesis of a new coronavirus infection is necessary to determine factors of possible vertical transmission, the effect on fetal growth and development, the course of pregnancy and labor, and peculiarities of the early neonatal period in infants whose mothers had had this infection in the first and second trimesters of pregnancy. © 2023, Media Sphera Publishing Group. All rights reserved.