Introduction
The novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 is responsible for severe acute
respiratory syndromes and has rapidly spread worldwide. The World Health
Organization (WHO) recognised COVID-19 as a pandemic on March
11th, 2020 (1).
Prevention and control of COVID-19 infections are major concerns for
pregnant women. The evidence currently available does not support
SARS-CoV-2 virus vertical transmission (2,3) and suggests that pregnant
women are not at increased risk of severe adverse maternal and neonatal
outcomes (4,5). This situation is in contrast with previous studies
showing that in pregnant women both H1N1 flu and previous Coronavirus
infections, such as SARS and MERS, were associated with a higher risk of
severe viral respiratory infections and with adverse maternal and
neonatal outcomes when compared to the general population (3,6,7).
To enhance scarce data from previous studies and boost research with a
more in-depth assessment of the maternal and neonatal effects of
SARS-CoV-2, the Italian Obstetric Surveillance System (ItOSS) (8) has
launched a national population-based study. The project collects
information on all SARS-CoV-2 confirmed cases in women receiving in or
out patient hospital care during pregnancy or within 42 days from any
pregnancy outcome.
In this time of uncertainty, the hope is that this project can provide
timely information to support health operators dealing with clinical and
organisational assistance of pregnancies complicated by COVID-19 in
Italy and other countries facing the epidemic, today and in the
forthcoming months.
The data collected and analysed distinguish different groups of women
affected by COVID-19: women who reported to a hospital while pregnant;
women hospitalised for miscarriage, voluntary termination, or to give
birth; women hospitalised within 42 days of the outcome of the
pregnancy. This distinction, with the wealth of details made available,
facilitates a fuller and more in-depth picture of how to support women
during pregnancy, childbirth, and postnatal care. This paper describes
the women with confirmed COVID-19 infection admitted to hospital during
pregnancy for out or inpatient care, their symptoms and the course of
the SARS-CoV-2 virus as well as its treatment.