Effect of infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 on the fetus in pregnant women who recovered from infection

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The effect of maternal infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) on the fetus is unclear, and there is no data from Saudi Arabia. OBJECTIVE: Assess the effect of maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection on fetal growth. DESIGN: Retrospective case-control SETTING: Tertiary care hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia PATIENTS AND METHODS: We selected pregnant women who underwent an obstetric growth scan and umbilical artery Doppler ultra-sound examination between 28 and 41 weeks of pregnancy. Women with multiple pregnancy, fetal abnormalities, maternal body mass index >30, maternal hypertension, any other chronic diseases that might affect fetal growth or pregnant women suffering from cancer were excluded. Fetal growth parameters assessed included fetal biometry (biparietal diameter, head circumference, abdominal circumference and femur length). We also did an umbilical artery Doppler assessment, which includes the umbilical artery pulsatility index, resistive index and the systolic/diastolic ratio. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Fetal biometry and biophysical profile SAMPLE SIZE: 48 SARS-CoV-2; 98 non-SARS-CoV-2 RESULTS: More women who had recovered from SARS-CoV-2 infection had small for gestational age fetuses compared with the control group (P=.001). CONCLUSION: Maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy was associated with a higher prevalence of small for gestational age (SGA) fetuses. LIMITATIONS: Retrospective, middle cerebral artery and uterine artery Doppler data were not included nor were the effect of tobacco use and socioeconomic status, the relationship between the date of infection with the date of conceiving or the relationship between the severity of infection in the mother and fetal biometry and growth. CONFLICT OF INTEREST: None.