Trends & Technology

A National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA 2022;327:748-59) suggests that pregnant women with COVID-19 appear to be at greater risk for pregnancy complications than those without COVID-19. The study included more than 13,000 pregnant people, approximately 2,400 of whom were infected with COVID-19, who delivered between March and December 31, 2020, before vaccines were available. Researchers found that, compared with uninfected people, those with moderate to severe COVID infection were more likely to experience death from any cause or a serious illness or condition related to common obstetric complications. They were also more likely to deliver via cesarean section or to deliver preterm. Mild or asymptomatic infection was not associated with adverse outcomes. These findings highlight the need for people who are pregnant and those who may become pregnant to be vaccinated against COVID-19 to avoid pregnancy complications....