Pregnancy, labor, postpartum and neonatal outcomes in women with new coronavirus infection and preterm labor

We retrospectively analyzed 148 cases of new coronavirus infection in pregnant women in the second half of pregnancy between May 2020 and December 2021. Groups were divided according to gestational age: comparison group I (n=104) – deliveries from 37 weeks and over, term; main group II (n=44) – deliveries from 22 to 36+6 weeks preterm. Among pregnancy complications, women in the preterm labour group were 6.5 times more likely to have moderate anaemia than those in the term labour group (95% CI: 1.2–35.1). Severe pneumonia and its progression associated with SARS-CoV‑2 infection was the main indication for premature delivery. Consequently, the odds of caesarean section were 12.6 times higher (95% CI: 4.2–37.8) in the preterm labour group than in the on-time delivery group. Of these, the proportion of emergency caesarean section was 100% (44) (χ2 =3.61; p=0.13). Postpartum endometritis was 13.2 times more frequent in women in the preterm labour group than in the term labour group (95% CI: 1.4–11.6). Cases of sepsis in the postpartum period were recorded only in the preterm labour group – 6.8% (n=3), p<0,05. Newborns in the preterm labour group had lower birth weight and Apgar scores, which was primarily due to prematurity and required respiratory support and longer hospital treatment. In the preterm group, the odds of neonatal malformations were 4.6 times higher than in the term group (95% CI: 1.75–12.90). The new coronavirus infection in the absence of infection in the placenta was detected in one case 2.3% (n=1).