NIH Study to Investigate Pregnancy Outcomes Resulting from COVID-19 Pandemic

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has launched a multipronged study to further evaluate the effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic during and after pregnancy.

According to an NIH press release, researchers will analyze the medical records of up to 21,000 women to evaluate whether changes to health care delivery that were implemented as a result of the pandemic have led to higher rates of pregnancy-related complications and cesarean delivery.

In addition, the researchers hope to establish the risk of pregnant women with COVID-19 infection transmitting the virus to the fetus, as newborns will be monitored and assessed until they are discharged from the hospital.

The study will track more than 1500 pregnant women confirmed with COVID-19 infection, monitoring their health for 6 weeks after childbirth.

Researchers from the Maternal-Fetal Medicine Units (MFMU) Network will be conducting the study, which includes a group of 12 US clinical centers funded by NIH’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

The MFMU Network researchers plan to contribute data collected from the current study to a larger registry to help inform future studies of how COVID-19 affects maternal health and pregnancy.

REFERENCE

NIH-funded study to investigate pregnancy outcomes resulting from COVID-19 pandemic. NIH. https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/nih-funded-study-investigate-pregnancy-outcomes-resulting-covid-19-pandemic. Published May 19, 2020. Accessed May 19, 2020.