Perfil de neonatos de mães com e sem diagnóstico de COVID-19 durante a gestação

Objective: to analyze the birth conditions and general health status of newborns of mothers with and without a positive COVID-19 test during pregnancy. Methods: a descriptive, cross-sectional, retrospective, and analytical study using a non-probabilistic sample, conducted in a maternity ward of a hospital in the southern region of the city of São Paulo, SP, Brazil. Two data collection instruments were used from medical records: a semi-structured questionnaire to investigate data from the mothers; and another for evaluating the newborns. The χ2 test was used for comparison of qualitative variables, Student's t-test, Mann-Whitney test, and ANOVA for quantitative variables, and Pearson's correlation test. Results: 117 mothers and their respective newborns participated, distributed into two groups. Group I consisted of 63 mothers who tested negative for COVID-19 during pregnancy, and Group II consisted of 54 mothers who tested positive for the disease during pregnancy and their respective babies. Newborns of mothers who tested positive presented lower length and weight, larger head circumference, a higher chance of requiring oxygen, a higher proportion of prematurity, a greater number of days of hospitalization, as well as lower Apgar scores at one and five minutes. Conclusion: newborns of mothers who tested positive for COVID-19 during pregnancy presented a higher proportion of factors associated with complications in the indicators of birth conditions and general condition evaluated. The risk ratio for low birth weight, hospitalization, and lower Apgar scores was increased for mothers who tested positive compared to those who tested negative.