SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnancy in Denmark – characteristics and
outcomes after confirmed infection in pregnancy: a nationwide,
prospective, population-based cohort study
Abstract
Objective To identify risk factors for and outcomes after SARS-CoV-2
infection and severe COVID-19 in pregnancy Design Prospective
population-based cohort study Setting Denmark Population All pregnancies
between 1 March and 31 October 2020 Methods Using data from the Danish
National Patient Register and Danish Microbiology Database and
prospectively registered data from medical records, we compared women
with a positive SARS-CoV-2 test during pregnancy to non-infected
pregnant women. Severe infection was defined as hospital admission due
to COVID-19. Main Outcome Measures Pregnancy, delivery, maternal, and
neonatal outcomes. Results Among 82,682 pregnancies, 418 women had
SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy, corresponding to an incidence of
5.1 per 1000 pregnancies, 23 (5.5%) of which required hospital
admission due to COVID-19. Risk factors for infection were asthma (OR
2.19 [1.41–3.41]) and being foreign born (OR 2.12
[1.70–2.64]). Risk factors for hospital admission due to COVID-19
included obesity (OR 2.74 [1.00–7.51]), smoking (OR 4.69
[1.58–13.90]), infection after gestational age in weeks (GA) 22 (GA
22–27: OR 3.77 [1.16–12.29]; GA 28–36: OR 4.76 [1.60–14.12])
and having asthma (OR 4.53 [1.39–14.79]). We found no difference in
any obstetric or neonatal outcomes. Conclusions Severe outcomes of
SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnancy are rare. Funding The Danish Ministry
of Higher Education and Science (Reg. 0237-00007B) and The Region of
Southern Denmark and Region Zealand’s shared fund for joint health
research projects (Reg. A767) Keywords Severe acute respiratory syndrome
coronavirus 2; COVID-19; Obstetric delivery; Pregnancy complications;
Pregnancy outcome; Cohort studies; Prospective studies.