New Advances in COVID-19 and Pregnancy

Dear Colleagues,

Global preparedness frameworks continue to overlook risks to pregnant women and babies during epidemics. Beyond COVID-19, this neglect had tragic consequences for women affected by the Zika and Ebola outbreaks. Intrauterine exposures to maternal COVID-19 could reach 20 million a year globally, according to recent estimates. This, coupled with lessons from previous antenatal viral infections, means the possibility of long term neurological or neurodevelopmental harms from COVID-19 warrant close attention.

Based on what is known at this time, pregnant women are at an increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19 compared to nonpregnant women. Additionally, pregnant women with COVID-19 might have an increased risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes. Therefore, there is a need to investigate the effects of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on mortality of pregnant and postpartum women. Worldwide, there are more than 140 million births every year, and pregnant women are potentially at risk for adverse outcomes of novel coronavirus. Although maternal mortality has been reported in some studies, limited information is available about SARS-CoV-2 infection in critically ill pregnant women hospitalized for COVID-19.

The aim of this Special Issue is to present papers summarizing well-established data on the clinical manifestation of COVID-19 in pregnant women, maternal and perinatal outcomes associated with COVID-19, the risk of vertical transmission of the virus, and the effect of SARS-COV-2 infection during pregnancy on fetal and neonatal outcomes. The data provided by the papers included in this Special Issue will allow researchers to determine maternal, fetal, and neonatal risk associated with SARS-COV-2 infection during pregnancy and may help to provide evidenced-based and personalized recommendations for the care of pregnant women with COVID-19. 

Dr. Gaspare Cucinella
Guest Editor

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