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.