THURSDAY, Aug. 18, 2022 (HealthDay News) — The first year of the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with increases in pregnancy-related complications and maternal deaths during delivery hospitalization, according to a study published online Aug. 12 in JAMA Network Open.
Rose L. Molina M.D. and M.P.H. from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston and their colleagues evaluated whether pregnancy-related complications and obstetric outcomes changed during the COVID-19 epidemic. The study included 849,544 pregnancies from Jan. 1, 2019 to Feb. 28, 2020 and 805,324 pregnancies in the COVID-19 period (March 1, 2020 to April 31, 2021).
Researchers found that maternal deaths during childbirth increased from 5.17 to 8.69 per 100,000 pregnancies. Modal delivery did not change. There were few changes in delivery mode. Investigators didn’t find significant changes in preexisting ethnic and racial disparities.
“The increase in maternal death during delivery hospitalization and pregnancy-related complications during the pandemic is alarming,” the authors write. “As the nation continues to face ongoing surges, it will be important to mitigate further pandemic-related disruptions on obstetric care and pregnancy outcomes.”
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