(Paris) Pregnancies are more often disrupted by COVID-19, with in particular more risk of premature births, shows a study relayed Tuesday by the hospitals of Paris (APHP).
“We have observed links between a diagnosis of COVID-19 and several maternal morbidities (including) premature births, preeclampsia (rise in blood pressure associated with an increase in protein in the urine, Editor’s note), hemorrhages at the time of childbirth and births by caesarean section ”, summarizes this study conducted in France by APHP and published at the end of November in the journal PLOS.
These conclusions are in line with previous studies. They testify to a higher risk of problems during pregnancy and childbirth, when the mother has COVID-19.
The APHP study corresponds to the start of the pandemic, i.e. the first half of 2020.
The researchers examined a posteriori the course of pregnancy of patients with COVID-19 and compared it with pregnant women spared from the disease. This concerns a total of nearly 250,000 deliveries.
Among the main findings, the proportion of preterm births before 37 weeks – eight and a half months – is twice as high in COVID-19 patients.
In contrast, the study did not notice more frequent cases of stillbirths in mothers with the disease.
This study, which has the advantage of having examined a large number of cases, has limitations linked to its principle.
By studying the situation of pregnant women after the fact, she cannot prove a direct cause and effect link between COVID-19 and the problems encountered.
Among other limitations, only patients with symptoms were classified as COVID-19 cases. The study cannot therefore comment on the higher risk of problems in patients who are positive for COVID-19 but who are asymptomatic.
Finally, this work only looks at pregnancies that have already entered their second trimester. The researchers were therefore unable to determine whether there was a higher risk of miscarriage in early pregnancy.