Strengths and limitations
This case-control study is the first to systematically compared clinical course and outcomes of hospitalized pregnant patients with non-pregnant patients with COVID-19. It was conducted at Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University in Wuhan, China, from January 1 to May 7, 2020; final date of follow-up was Jul 8, 2020. This hospital is one of the major teaching hospitals and is responsible for the treatments for COVID-19 assigned by the Chinese government under scientific guidance. The research duration covered the major process of COVID-19 epidemic in Wuhan. All of those ensured adequate number of hospitalized cases and comparability of data. Our data were collected using a standardized customized data collection forms from patients’ medical records by a trained team of physicians, and verified independently by 2 investigators. Our study has some limitations. First, though all the cases were selected at random, few critical and serious cases were included in this study, limiting the clinical implications. Second, all patients in this study were from the Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, there may be different clinical characteristics in different areas due to differences in race, policies, culture and medical conditions, so the results should be treated with caution. Third, neonates were only evaluated at birth, continued observations of the natural history of the neonates and infants are needed.