Introduction
COVID-19 disease was first described in December 2019 in Wuhan (Hubei,
China), caused by a novel coronavirus named SARS-Cov-2. The virus spread
worldwide and the WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic infection on March
11th, with more than 4 million infections and 283 153
deaths reported (May 12th)(1). Spain
is the third country in number of cases, with more than 227 000
infections(1).
Most patients have mild symptoms, but approximately 20% develop a
severe disease, including pneumonia and acute respiratory distress
syndrome (ARDS)(2–4). Although the existing data is
still limited, pregnant women do not appear to be more susceptible to
infection or to experience more serious
complications(5). Therefore, most pregnant women
present with mild disease, and no relevant implications in mode of
delivery should be expected. However, regarding perinatal outcome, it is
of note that in most series published from Asian countries, a high rate
of caesarean section has been described(6,7).
Another aspect of uncertainty and clinical concern is the risk of
vertical transmission. This mode of transmission of SARS-CoV-2 has not
been clearly demonstrated to date, although the evidence against this
route is still limited(7–11). However, there is no
evidence of the presence of the virus in genital fluids, amniotic fluid,
urine or breast milk(7,9,12,13). As a mainly
respiratory virus, with small passage to blood(12),
the possibility of placental seeding and transmission seems highly
unlikely.
In the present study we aimed to describe mode of delivery and perinatal
results among COVID-19 confirmed deliveries.