COVID-19 in Pregnant Women, Maternal—Fetal Involvement, and Vertical Mother-to-Child Transmission: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Pregnant women are included in the COVID-19 risk groups even if they do not have any pathology. This requires an analysis of research focused on pregnant women to understand the impact of SARS-CoV-2 on their condition. There is also a need to know whether there is vertical mother-to-child transmission, as well as other consequences in case the pregnant woman is infected and COVID-19 positive. A systematic review was carried out to analyze the existing information on the complications of a pregnant woman infected with the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus and the possibility of vertical transmission from mother to child, registered in the PROSPERO website and searched in the PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL, and Cochrane Library databases. Finally, 22 articles were included in the review. The review suggests that vertical transmission from mother to child could be exceptionally possible at the time of delivery or breastfeeding, but not through the placenta. It is interesting to point out the good acceptance of vaccination by pregnant women, which may be the reason for the low infectivity. Further research on pregnant women should be carried out to provide evidence on vertical mother-to-child transmission and the role of breast milk in relation to SARS-CoV-2.

Keywords

• COVID-19
• SARS-CoV-2
• pregnancy
• vertical mother-to-child transmission
• breast milk
• vaccination