RETROSPECTIVE COMPARATIVE STUDY BETWEEN COVID-19 POSITIVE AND COVID-19 NEGATIVE PREGNANT WOMEN: MATERNALAND FETAL OUTCOME

Objectives: This retrospective comparative study aims to compare maternal and fetal outcomes in COVID-19 positive and negative pregnant women. Material and Methods: Our study is a single centre retrospective comparative study conducted in Department of obstetrics and Gynaecology, Lalla Ded hospital, Results: Of the 362 COVID-19 positive pregnant women, 37.6% had a vaginal delivery, and 62.4% underwent LSCS, while in the control group, 70.3% had a vaginal delivery, and 29.7% underwent LSCS. The (mean±SD) gestational age at delivery was (35.2±2.8) weeks in the COVID-19 positive group and (37.4±2.2)weeks in the control group. Preterm labor was signicantly higher in theCOVID19 positive group (p=0.0032), with a rate of 5.5% compared to 2.5% in the control group. The incidence of maternal mortality showed no signicant difference and was 0.6% in the COVID-19 positive group and 0.4% in the control group (p=0.6072). In the perinatal outcomes, there was no signicant difference in the Apgar score and still births between the two groups. However, the birth weight and neonatal ICU admission were found to be signicantly different between COVID-19 positive group and COVID-19 negative group with (p=0.0133) and (p=0.0001) respectively. The SARS-CoV-2 screening was carried out for all pregnant women admitted for delivery using RT-PCR. All neonates born from SARS-CoV-2-positive mothers were isolated and tested for SARS-CoV-2 infection .On the basis of the RT-PCR result (negative vs. positive), statistically signicant differences were found for maternal characteristics, such as mean gestational age (37-38 vs. 35-36), medical comorbidity (4% vs. 8%), and maternal outcomes like the C-section rate (25% vs. 62.4%), preterm delivery (2.5% vs. 5.5%),Deaths ICU Admissions (1.5% vs 0.7%) Anemia (69% vs 45%) Deaths (0.01% vs 0.5%) and perinatal outcomes like mean Low birth weight (1.9% vs 4.1%), low Apgar score (1.8% vs. 3.9%), IUD (1.5% VS 2.2%) and fetal distress (9% vs. 23.2%) among SARS-CoV-2 negative and positive cases, respectively. No neonate from SARS-CoV-2-positive pregnant women was found to be positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection. Conclusions: This retrospective comparative study highlights the signicant impact of COVID-19 on maternal and neonatal outcomes. The incidence of preterm labor and admission to the neonatal intensive care unit were signicantly higher in the COVID-19 positive group. Therefore, it is crucial to provide adequate care and management for pregnant women infected with COVID-19 to improve maternal and fetal outcomes