Epelboin S, Labrosse J, De Mouzon J, et al. - Researchers investigated if pregnant women with COVID-19 diagnosis more frequently had maternal morbidities compared with pregnant women without COVID-19 diagnosis during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Using the French national hospitalization database (PMSI), a large representative national cohort of all hospitalizations for births ≥ 22 weeks of gestation in France from January to June 2020 was retrospectively analyzed.

• A model adjusted on patient characteristics (that could be risk factors: maternal age, body mass index, active smoking, parity, history of diabetes or hypertension, multiple pregnancy, and assisted reproductive technique (ART) conception) was used to analyze maternal morbidities and adverse obstetrical outcomes with or without COVID-19.

• More frequently, pregnant women with COVID-19 diagnosis were older, obese, had a multiple pregnancy, and history of hypertension, compared with those without COVID-19.

• Those with COVID-19 were less frequently active smokers and primiparas and the 2 groups had similar rates of conception using ART.

• Frequency of admission to intensive care unit, mortality, preeclampsia/eclampsia, gestational hypertension, peripartum and postpartum hemorrhage, preterm and very preterm spontaneous and induced birth, and cesarean section were higher among women in the COVID-19 group when compared with the non-COVID-19 group.

• There appeared no increase in rates of pregnancy terminations, stillbirths, gestational diabetes, placenta previa, placenta abruption, and venous thromboembolic events.

• Overall, risk of obstetric morbidities appeared higher among pregnant women with COVID-19 disease when compared with non-COVID-19 pregnant controls.