The effects of Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on routine antenatal care visits and complications of pregnancy

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Routine follow-up of pregnancy is a comprehensive care process starting from planning of pregnancy that involves rational and careful use of medical, psychological, and social support. In this study, our objective was to compare the adherence rate to routine antenatal follow-up program during the COVID-19 pandemic with that of previous years among pregnant women, in an effort to shed light on health policies to be developed similar events in the future. METHODS:This retrospective cross-sectional study was carried out between March 11, 2019, when isolation measures were initiated in the context of precautionary steps taken in Turkey against the COVID-19 pandemic, and June 1, 2020, when the "normalization" was initiated.RESULTS: During the study period in 2020, the proportion of cesarean sections were higher, 61.1%, as compared to previous years (p=0.27). The stillbirths were numerically lower (1.2%, p=0.77), but the rate of spontaneous abortions was significantly higher (19.6%, p=0.009). The number of follow-up visits per pregnancy was lower than in previous years (3.8, p=0.02), although the proportion of patients visiting the outpatient units for regular controls to the overall patient group increased as compared to previous years (52.0%).CONCLUSION: During the flare-up of the COVID-19 pandemic (i.e. between March and June 2020), the rate of obstetric/neonatal morbidity and mortality except spontaneous abortion was not significantly higher as compared to the corresponding period in previous years. However, considering the potential increase in the risk of obstetric complications during a pandemic, specialized management programs targeting basic pregnancy follow-up services should be developed.

Self – Care Practices of Pregnant Women during COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Table (1) Presents that more than one third of the studied pregnant women aged from (25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30). The mean age was (26.57±5,0) years.…”

Intravenous immunoglobulin use in patients with unexplained recurrent pregnancy loss

“…Second, the control group was identified during the COVID pandemic. One can hypothesize that increased perceived stress could contribute to a heightened miscarriage rate, but this has not been observed in population based studies thus far 38,39 . Third, patients in the IVIg group had both RPL and higher rates of conception through ART; comparing them to a control cohort with a high incidence of natural conception may not be appropriate.…”

Assistência pré-natal durante a pandemia da Covid-19: uma revisão integrativa

“…A disseminação do uso da telemedicina durante a pandemia de Covid-19 auxiliou sobremodo na continuação do acompanhamento das mulheres grávidas. Nesse contexto, a maior vantagem do atendimento virtual foi a redução da exposição de gestantes ao SARS-CoV-2 nas ruas, transportes públicos e estabelecimentos de saúde (Yildiz et al, 2021).…”

“…Esses fatores podem ter relação com a detecção tardia de malformação fetal e um aumento da incidência de diabetes, na taxa de cesariana, macrossomia e obesidade devido à falta de intervenções nutricionais ou rotina de atividades físicas (Chen et al, 2020). Em relação aos desfechos de morbimortalidade obstétrica/neonatal, observou-se que a frequência nos primeiros três meses da pandemia de Covid-19 não foi significativamente diferente em comparação aos períodos anteriores, exceto para os casos de abortos espontâneos, os quais podem estar associados a infecções assintomáticas e a redução de consultas presenciais (Yildiz et al, 2021). No estudo desenvolvido por Duryea et al em 2021, comparou-se as mulheres que deram à luz em 2020, após a implementação de consultas virtuais de pré-natal apenas com áudio, com as mulheres que deram à luz em 2019 e concluíram que não tiveram resultados perinatais mais adversos.…”