Analysis of risk factors and their effects on the early neonatal period of newborn infants from mothers who had COVID-19 during pregnancy

Abstract

Аim - to determine the leading ante-, perinatal factors of risk and assess their impact on postnatal adaptation during the early neonatal period in newborns from mothers with COVID-19 at different periods of pregnancy.

Materials and methods. 141 histories of labor and newborn development charts of the State Institution of Ukrainian Center of Maternity and Childhood of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, were retrospectively analyzed 2021-2023. The main study group included children (n=116) from mothers with COVID-19 in the 1-3 trimesters of pregnancy (subgroups I-III), the control group consisted of 25 healthy newborns. Anamnestic, clinical, laboratory and instrumental examinations were evaluated.

Results. All pregnant in the main group had complications during pregnancy, regardless of the time of COVID-19 infection, p<0.001. The leading ante-, perinatal factors were kidney disease, p=0.021, the presence of bacterial vaginosis, p<0.001 in women's anamnesis; long anhydrous period ˃12h in subgroups III (25.6%) and II (16.7%), p=0.011; contaminated amniotic fluid, p=0.019; fetal distress, p=0.002; the premature labor, p=0.005; placental dysfunction, p=0.050. Disorders of daptation were more found in boys, p=0.049. In the examined subgroups, the most frequent disruption of the course of early adaptation was in newborns whose mothers had become ill during the 1 and 3 trimesters of pregnancy, every 3 children from these subgroups required observation or treatment. The following postnatal adaptation disorders were often noted: respiratory distress, intrauterine pneumonia, cardiopathies, neonatal encephalopathies, infectious changes of organs.

Conclusions. Identification of the risk factors and their impact on the course in newborns from mothers with COVID-19 will allow timely prediction of the condition of children's risk from birth, timely correction of potential adaptation disorders using modern strategies to prevent the implementation of short and long-term complications in infants.

The study was performed in accordance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. The study protocol was approved by the ethics committee for all participants in the process. Informed consent was obtained from the parents for the participation of newborns.

No conflict of interests was declared by the authors.