Maternal and neonatal outcomes in women with COVID-19: A retrospective cohort study

Background: Considering the conflicting evidence that exists regarding the effect of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on pregnancy and newborn outcomes, it is necessary to conduct this research during the first year in the north of Iran, a highly visited and trafficked place, which increases the possibility of contracting the virus and severity of the infection. Objective: This study aimed to compare maternal and neonatal outcomes in pregnant women with and without COVID-19. Materials and Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, data from 160 pregnant women referred to 3 hospitals in Mazandaran, Iran from April 2020 to March 2021 were extracted from their medical records using checklists. Participants were divided into 2 groups: group A) 80 pregnant women with COVID-19, group B) 80 noninfected pregnant women. All information related to maternal and neonatal outcomes were extracted and compared from the files of the 2 groups. The results obtained from comparing 2 groups of pregnant women from the result of the reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction test were analyzed. Results: The most common symptoms in the COVID-19 group were fever and cough. Pregnancy complications such as abortion, pre-eclampsia, and premature birth were not significant between groups (p = 0.4, 0.45, 0.45, respectively). No statistically significant difference was observed between groups regarding maternal and neonatal outcomes. Conclusion: Despite the peak and severity of the COVID-19 disease in the first year of the pandemic, it seems that it had no effect on maternal and neonatal outcomes in each trimester of pregnancy in affected women.