Abstract
Introduction
Assessing the risk factors for and consequences of infection with SARS-CoV-2 during pregnancy is
essential to guide clinical guidelines and care. Previous studies on the influence of SARS-CoV-2
infection in pregnancy have been among hospitalised patients, which may have exaggerated risk
estimates of severe outcomes because all cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the pregnant
population were not included. The objectives of this study were to identify risk factors for and
outcomes after SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnancy independent of severity of infection in a
universally tested population, and to identify risk factors for and outcomes after severe infection
requiring hospital admission.
Material and methods
This was a prospective population-based cohort study in Denmark using data from the Danish
National Patient Register and Danish Microbiology Database and prospectively registered data from
medical records. We included all pregnancies between March 1 and October 31, 2020 and
compared women with a positive SARS-CoV-2 test during pregnancy to non-infected pregnant
women. Cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnancy were both identified prospectively and
through register linkage to secure that all cases were identified and that cases were pregnant during
infection. Main outcome measures were pregnancy, delivery, maternal, and neonatal outcomes.
Severe infection was defined as hospital admission due to COVID-19.
Results
Among 82 682 pregnancies, 418 women had SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy,
corresponding to an incidence of 5.1 per 1000 pregnancies, 23 (5.5%) of which required hospital
admission due to COVID-19. Risk factors for infection were asthma (OR 2.19 [1.41–3.41]) and
being foreign born (OR 2.12 [1.70–2.64]). Risk factors for hospital admission due to COVID-19
included obesity (OR 2.74 [1.00–7.51]), smoking (OR 4.69 [1.58–13.90]), infection after
gestational age (GA) 22 weeks (GA 22–27 weeks: OR 3.77 [1.16–12.29]; GA 28–36 weeks: OR
4.76 [1.60–14.12]) and having asthma (OR 4.53 [1.39–14.79]). We found no difference in any
obstetric or neonatal outcomes.
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COVID-19 in pregnancy
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Conclusions
Only 1 in 20 women with SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy require admission to hospital
due to COVID-19. And severe outcomes of SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnancy are rare.
Keywords
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; COVID-19; Obstetric delivery; Pregnancy
complications; Pregnancy outcome; Cohort studies; Prospective studies.
Abbreviations
BMI: Body mass index
CI: Confidence interval
COVID-19: Coronavirus disease
DCOD: the Danish COVID-19 in pregnancy database
DNPR: The Danish National Patient Register
EDD: Estimated date of delivery
GA: Gestational age in completed weeks
HR: Hazard ratio
ICU: Intensive care unit
IQR: Interquartile range
LMP: Date of the first day of the last menstrual period
MiBa: Danish Microbiology Database
NICU: Neonatal intensive care unit
OR: Crude odds ratio
PCR: Polymerase chain reaction
SARS-CoV-2: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2
W: Weeks
Key Message
Population based cohort study about SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy. Asthma and foreign
ethnicity were identified as risk factors for infection while obstetric outcomes did not change.
Obesity, smoking, infection after GA 22, and asthma increased the risk of hospital admission.
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COVID-19 in pregnancy
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Main body of Text
Introduction
The World Health Organisation declared a global pandemic of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in
March 2020.1 COVID-19 is caused by infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus
2 (SARS-CoV-2).
Assessing the risk factors for and consequences of infection with SARS-CoV-2 during pregnancy is
essential to guide clinical guidelines and care.
Evidence indicates that pregnant women are not at increased risk of infection with SARS-CoV-2
compared to non-pregnant women.2–4 Risk factors associated with infection include obesity, age,
ethnicity, and pre-existing morbidities, and SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnancy has been
associated with an increased risk of admission to an intensive care unit (ICU), preterm delivery, and
admission of the neonate to a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).5–9
Most previous population-based studies on SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnancy have been among
hospitalised patients, which may have exaggerated risk estimates of severe outcomes because all
cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the pregnant population were not included.6,10 Only one study
from the Netherlands included all cases independent of severity.7 However, in that study cases were
identified prospectively in obstetric clinics, with the risk of selection bias. Additionally, the
outcomes are in most studies compared to outcomes of historic cohorts of non-infected women,
with the risk that the consequences of the pandemic will be attributed solely to SARS-CoV-2.6,7,11
Lastly, testing strategies influence the estimated prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection, and
potentially also the estimated severity of outcomes in that also the mild and asymptomatic cases
detected.5
The testing strategy in Denmark rapidly evolved during the pandemic from testing the most ill in
March 2020 to testing cases with mild symptoms from April and testing close contacts from May.
Universal testing of all pregnant women admitted to hospital including those for delivery was
implemented nationwide in early May 2020.
The objectives of this study were to identify risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnancy in
a universally tested population and risk factors for severe infection requiring hospital admission,
and to investigate the consequences of infection and severe infection on pregnancy, delivery, and
neonatal outcomes when comparing to all non-infected pregnancies during the same time period.
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COVID-19 in pregnancy
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Material and methods
This was a nationwide prospective population-based study investigating the association between
SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnancy and clinical characteristics and maternal, delivery, and
neonatal outcomes. The study used prospectively registered data from medical records registered in
the Danish COVID-19 in pregnancy database (DCOD) and register data obtained from the
following national registers: the Danish National Patient Register (DNPR),12 Danish Microbiology
Database (MiBa),13 and the Civil Registration System.14
The overall study population was identified in DNPR and comprised all women registered with a
pregnancy or birth-related ICD10 diagnosis or procedure between March 1 and October 31, 2020 as
specified in Table S1. SARS-CoV-2-positive cases within the study population were identified by
linkage to MiBa. In Denmark, all positive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests are registered in
MiBa, while antigen and antibody tests were not during the study period. Pregnant women
identified in the registers were followed up until December 11, 2020.
In the DCOD, women with a positive SARS-CoV-2 test during pregnancy between March 1 and
October 31, 2020 were registered prospectively. Eligible SARS-CoV-2 tests included PCR tests (of
pharyngeal swab or tracheal secretion), antigen tests (of nasal swab), or detection of antibodies (in a
blood test) combined with a history of COVID-19 symptoms during pregnancy. All obstetric units
in Denmark participated, and clinicians from each unit reported cases based on data in the medical
records. DCOD was based in EasyTrial (easytrial.net, Denmark). Cases were validated every
second month by register linkage, with data obtained from the DNPR, Danish National Service
Register, and MiBa. The validation dataset included only personal identification number, date of
positive SARS-CoV-2 PCR test, date of hospital contact, and name of the hospital. Non-reported
cases identified by validation who were pregnant at the time of a positive SARS-CoV-2 PCR test
were entered into the DCOD retrospectively. Women included in the DCOD were followed up until
data extraction on February 8, 2021.
The register data on the overall study population were pseudoanonymised, making it impossible to
validate the SARS-CoV-2-positive cases from the registers against the DCOD cases on an
individual level. We therefore present data for SARS-CoV-2-positive women from the DCOD
alongside cases identified in the registers to illustrate degree of comparability. SARS-CoV-2 cases
in the DCOD and those registered in the national registries were each compared to the non-infected
population. The validity of maternal and neonatal characteristics, surgical procedures, and main
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COVID-19 in pregnancy
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diagnoses in the Danish registers is considered high,15 and we therefore evaluated that a comparison
between the DCOD data and the registry data was relevant.
The estimated date of delivery (EDD) was registered in the DCOD and based on the first trimester
ultrasound examination offered to all pregnant women between gestational age (GA) 11 and 14
completed weeks (w). In case of first trimester abortion, the EDD was calculated based on the GA
at abortion. In the DCOD, date of the first day of the last menstrual period (LMP) was defined as
EDD minus 280 days. In the register data, the LMP was calculated based on the registered GA at
delivery or abortion. If still pregnant, we calculated the LMP based on GA at ultrasound
examination, and if missing, the recommended GA for the registered ultrasound examinations. For
abortions with a missing registration of GA, GA was imputed based on the mean GA within the
categories miscarriage or induced abortion.
Characteristics included maternal age at LMP, body mass index (BMI) based on pre-pregnancy
weight as registered at first contact in pregnancy, smoking defined as any smoking during
pregnancy, parity, multiple pregnancy, pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes, and diabetes. The
register dataset also included pre-existing asthma, and hypertension diagnosed within 5 years of
LMP. Table S2 presents the codes used to identify characteristics and outcomes in DNPR. The
DCOD also included information on migrant status defined as not born in Denmark, employment
status including ongoing education, asthma defined as asthma requiring steroid inhalation, pre-
existing medical problems and previous pregnancy-related complications as specified in Table S3.
Maternal outcomes included admission to an ICU, pneumonia (in the DCOD defined as confirmed
by radiological examination), thromboembolic events, maternal mortality (death during pregnancy
or within 7 days postpartum) and pregnancy outcomes including delivery, termination of pregnancy
before GA 23 w, or miscarriage before GA 22 w.
Delivery outcomes comprised mode of delivery, induction of labour, and preterm birth before GA
37 w.
Neonatal outcomes included admission to a NICU directly from the delivery or maternity ward,
stillbirth from GA 22 w, Apgar score at 5 minutes, umbilical artery pH, and neonatal death (within
28 days postpartum).
Data on migrant status and infant admission to a NICU were not available in our register data.
These variables registered in the DCOD were therefore compared to historical data comprising
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COVID-19 in pregnancy
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migrant status of all women with a liveborn child in 2019 in Denmark as reported by Statistics
Denmark16 and admissions to a NICU of all live born children in Denmark in 2019 as reported by
the Danish Quality Database for new-borns.17
In the DCOD, admission to hospital with a concurrent SARS-CoV-2 infection was defined as
admission and discharge on two different dates and a positive SARS-CoV-2 test within 14 days
before or during admission. Severe infection was defined as admission to hospital due to COVID-
19 symptoms.
Statistical Analyses
Categorical variables are presented as count with percentage, and continuous variables as median
with interquartile range (IQR). For DCOD data numbers < 3 and for register data numbers < 5 are
not reported to avoid identification according to the respective ethical approvals. The categorical
DCOD data were analysed by calculating the odds ratio and with chi2 test when compared to the
non-infected population, and with logistic regression when compared to severe versus non-severe
DCOD cases including multivariate analyses adjusting for age, BMI, parity, and smoking.
Continuous DCOD variables were analysed using the Wilcoxon signed rank test. We did a sub-
analysis of the DCOD cases testing for the influence of gestational age at time of SARS-CoV-2
infection on key outcomes comprising cesarean delivery, induction of labour, preterm birth, and
NICU admission. In the analysis of register data, categorical outcomes were assessed with
univariate and multiple logistic regression and continuous variables with linear regression. The
multivariate analyses adjusted for a) maternal age and LMP to adjust for time of inclusion in the
study, and b) predefined risk factors including maternal age, LMP, parity, BMI, and smoking. In the
linear regression model, we included log-transformed outcome variables, applying bootstrapping to
account for non-normal distribution of residuals. For the outcomes miscarriage, termination of
pregnancy, and preterm delivery, a Cox regression analysis was performed, including SARS-CoV-2
as time-dependent exposure, to account for duration of exposure to SARS-CoV-2 during follow-up.
For the first three outcomes, women were included in the survival-analysis according to the time of
first registered hospital contact, and for preterm delivery, women were included at GA 100 days and
registered as SARS-CoV-2 exposed at the date of positive test. Missing data were excluded from all
analyses. A P-value ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Data were analysed using
Stata/MP16 (64-bit) and IBM SPSS statistics 27 (SPSS Inc).
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COVID-19 in pregnancy
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Ethical Approval
The study was approved by the Danish Patient Safety Authority on the April 24, 2020 (reg. no. 31-
1521-252), the regional Data Protection Agency in Region Zealand on the March 23, 2020 (reg. no.
REG-022-2020), and the regional Data Protection Agency in Region of Southern Denmark on April
15, 2020 (reg. no. 20/17416). The study is reported according to STROBE guidelines.18
Results
Among 82 682 pregnancies in Denmark between March 1 and October 31, 2020, 420 women had a
SARS-CoV-2 positive PCR-test, and 418 SARS-CoV-2 cases were confirmed as being during
pregnancy through validation against medical records. Figure 1A illustrates the flow through the
register-based part of the study, and Figure 1B the flow through the DCOD study.
The overall incidence of SARS-COV-2 infection during validated pregnancy in the inclusion period
was 5.1 (95% confidence interval (CI) 4.7–5.5) per 1000 pregnancies, with the monthly incidence
ranging from 0.2 per 1000 pregnancies in July to 3.8 in October (Figure S1). Of the SARS-CoV-2
cases in pregnancy, 23 (5.5%) were admitted to hospital because of severe COVID-19 symptoms.
Basic characteristics of women and their pregnancies according to SARS-CoV-2 status and severity
of infection are presented in Table 1 and Table S4. Pregnant women infected with SARS-CoV-2
more frequently had pre-existing asthma (crude odds ratio (OR) 2.19, 95% CI 1.41–3.41) and were
foreign born (OR 2.12, 95% CI 1.70–2.64) compared to the non-infected. There were no differences
in the rates of pre-eclampsia or gestational diabetes. Women who required admission to hospital
had a significantly higher BMI (P = 0.018), were more likely to smoke in pregnancy (OR 4.69, 95%
CI 1.58–13.90), and have pre-existing asthma (OR 4.53, 95% CI 1.39–14.79). Compared to women
becoming infected before, women becoming infected after GA 22 w had a higher risk of COVID-
19-related hospital admission (GA 22–27 w: OR 3.77, 95% CI 1.16–12.29; GA 28–36 w: OR 4.76,
95% CI 1.60–14.12).
The outcomes of the SARS-CoV-2 infected women compared to all non-infected pregnancies are
presented in Table 2. The rate of pneumonia among SARS-CoV-2 infected pregnant women was
1.5% (n = 6), corresponding to a significantly higher risk compared to non-infected pregnancies
(OR 15.97, 95% CI 6.92–36.86). The rate of thromboembolic events and admission to an ICU was
low, and we had no cases of maternal death during the study period. The rate of early pregnancy
loss did not vary between the groups after adjusting for exposure time. However, the risk of
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COVID-19 in pregnancy
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termination of pregnancy was increased after adjustment (Hazard Ratio (HR) 2.39, 95% CI 1.29–
4.45) among the SARS-CoV-2 infected women. The median time between SARS-CoV-2 infection
and delivery was 88 days (interquartile range 35–138). We found no difference between the groups
regarding any of the delivery or infant outcomes. Adjustment did not change the results. We had no
neonatal deaths among the children of SARS-CoV-2 infected women.
We found no difference in outcomes between women with severe COVID-19 infection requiring
hospital admission compared to less severe SARS-CoV-2 cases in either the crude or adjusted
analyses (Table 3).
There was no difference in risk of cesarean delivery, induction of labour, preterm birth, or NICU
admission in relation to GA at infection among the SARS-CoV-2 infected women (data not shown).
Discussion
In this prospective population-based cohort study, we found 418 validated cases of SARS-CoV-2
among pregnant women, corresponding to an incidence of 5.1 per 1000 pregnancies. Only 23
women (5.5%) required hospital admission due to the COVID-19 infection. Risk factors for
infection were asthma and being foreign born, while obesity, smoking in pregnancy, infection after
GA 22 w, and having asthma increased the risk of hospital admission due to COVID-19. We found
an increased risk of late termination of pregnancy, but no difference in any delivery or neonatal
outcomes among infected women. Severity of infection did not affect outcomes.
Minority ethnicity has been identified as a risk factor for SARS-CoV-2 infection in both pregnant
and non-pregnant women.5–8,11 The increased risk level found in this study is similar to that reported
in a large systematic review.5 The aetiology of the ethnic disparity is not clear, but it is probably
multifaceted and related to cultural and socioeconomic factors rather than to SARS-CoV-2.
The identified risk factors for severe infection comprising asthma, increasing maternal weight, and
GA at the time of infection are similar to risk factors identified in previous studies.5,6 Smoking in
pregnancy has not been described previously, but seems a plausible risk factor due to its effect on
lung tissue. Previous population-based studies have primarily included women admitted to
hospital,6,10,11 and our results in the more severe cases (Table 3) are therefore comparable to the
Results
of these studies.
Women with SARS-CoV-2 infection had, expectedly, a much higher risk of pneumonia, but
otherwise we found no increased risk for adverse maternal or neonatal outcomes in infected
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COVID-19 in pregnancy
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compared to non-infected pregnant women. Previous studies have found increased risks of
admission to an ICU, induction of labour, preterm delivery, and admission to a NICU,5–9,19,20 which
we could not confirm. The lack of association in our study might be related to the fact that we
included all cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnancy independent of severity. The previously
shown associations between SARS-CoV-2 and severe outcomes might be related to severity of
disease. Albeit, we found no difference in outcomes among cases requiring hospital admission due
to COVID-19 compared to less severe cases. Nevertheless, in a Nordic collaborative study, women
with severe COVID-19 were at increased risk of induction of labour, cesarean delivery, and preterm
delivery.21
We found few cases of early pregnancy complications among the SARS-CoV-2 infected women.
However, after adjustment for exposure time, the risk of termination of pregnancy was higher
among the SARS-CoV-2 infected women. In Denmark, all women admitted to hospital are tested
for SARS-CoV-2, and we assume that the increased rate of terminations is partly related to more
frequent testing and consequently a higher detection rate of SARS-CoV-2 among women opting for
provoked abortion rather than the SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis itself. However, an association cannot be
ruled out and future studies are needed to explore whether there is a possible association between
SARS-CoV-2 infection and terminations of pregnancy.
This study has several strengths. The major strength is the combination of register-based data
considered complete12 and prospectively collected medical record data, allowing for validation,
analysis of disease severity, and multivariate analyses. Furthermore, the comparison population
comprised all pregnancies from the same inclusion period as the SARS-CoV-2 cases, thus adjusting
for the possible consequences of community regulations during a pandemic.22 Additionally, we
identified the vast majority of SARS-CoV-2 cases in pregnancy because testing was widespread in
Denmark during the inclusion period, and the DCOD data were validated against registry data.
The study also has limitations. First, the register dataset was pseudoanonymised, making individual-
level linkage to DCOD impossible. Additionally, data on SARS-CoV-2 cases in the DCOD were
based on medical records and data in the national registers were based on mandatory nationally
registered data, and these data might not be directly comparable. Nevertheless, the number of
SARS-CoV-19 cases was similar in the two cohorts, and data did not differ significantly between
the cohorts, indicating agreement between cases and data sources. Some descriptive variables
including BMI and smoking status are not reported in the registers before delivery and are not
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COVID-19 in pregnancy
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reported for early pregnancy losses. The DCOD thus provided complete data, and made national
surveillance of the infection possible to support national guidelines until register data were
available.23–25 Secondly, the lack of association in some outcomes for severe cases might be due to
low numbers. Thirdly, universal testing of pregnant women was not implemented in Denmark
before May 2020, and we might therefore have missed SARS-CoV-2-positive cases early in the
inclusion period. Furthermore, MiBa only included information on PCR tests, thus missing pregnant
women diagnosed through antigen or antibody tests, which were possibly milder cases. Inclusion of
these plausibly positive but non-identified cases in the comparison population of pregnancies might
have affected our estimates.
Conclusion
In this prospective population-based cohort study with universal SARS-CoV-2 testing, we found no
difference in outcomes related to delivery or the neonate among infected women compared to non-
infected, nor did severity of infection affect the results. The results indicate that the outcomes of
SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnancy might not be as severe as proposed by previous studies in
which more severe cases were included. Testing strategy and how cases are included naturally
influence the results and should be considered.
We found that the incidence of termination of pregnancy among SARS-CoV-2 infected women was
increased compared to that in non-infected pregnant women, which might be related to universal
screening of women admitted to hospital. Further studies are needed to explore a possible relation
between late termination of pregnancy and SARS-CoV-2 infection.
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COVID-19 in pregnancy
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Acknowledgement
The authors would like to thank EasyTrial, who provided their clinical trial management software,
used for data management in the DCOD study, free of charge for this study as the company offered
free access to the software to COVID-19 research projects.
The authors also wish to thank Professor Marian Knight, DPhil, National Perinatal Epidemiology
Unit, Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford, UK, for her initiation of the
International Network of Obstetric Survey Systems study, in which the DCOD participates, and her
contribution to the international case report form, on which the DCOD is based.
Conflicts of Interests
All authors declare no conflict of interest
Funding Information
This study was supported by grants from the Danish Ministry of Higher Education and Science
(Reg. no. 0237-00007B), The Region of Southern Denmark and Region Zealand’s shared fund for
joint health research projects (Reg. no. A767) and The Nordic Federation of Societies of Obstetrics
and Gynecology (NFOG).
The funding sources had no influence on the study design, data collection and analysis,
interpretation of data, preparation of the manuscript, or decision to submit the paper.
Author Contributions
AA, LK, MB, LS, KHR, JJ, LP conceived the registry study, and AA and LK conceived the DCOD
study. AA, LK, MB designed and planned the combined study. AA, MB, TP, FP acquired and
analysed the data for the cohort study. KW, MI, FJ, ER, CA, IS, TC, JM, LB, BL, AT, MK, BH, LJ,
SS, LS, KK, MP, ÅK, MV, DT, MT, LA, AB, AG, CBA, RF, LH, LHv, AS, SR, AA, and LK
acquired and managed the DCOD dataset and AA analysed the DCOD data. AA wrote the first draft
of the manuscript, MB, LK, TP, LS, KHR and JJ revised the manuscript critically, and all authors
approved the final version of the manuscript. All authors accept responsibility for the paper.
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COVID-19 in pregnancy
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is the author/funder, who has granted medRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. (which was not certified by peer review)
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23. Aabakke A JM, Krebs L. COVID-19 i Graviditet, Rapport for Perioden 1. Marts - 30. August 2020.
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/5f7ef92c2c1737355da5b769/1602156846868/COVID-19+i+graviditet+-+Rapport+for+marts-
august+v1.1.pdftic/5467abcce4b056d72594db79/t/5ecfe76495025343e22ccb07/1590683493294/Bilag
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2021).
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March 23, 2021).
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is the author/funder, who has granted medRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. (which was not certified by peer review)
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COVID-19 in pregnancy
15
Legends to figures and tables
Figure 1. A) Flow through the register study; B) Flow through the Danish COVID-19 in pregnancy
database (DCOD) study.
Table 1. Basic characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 infected women overall and according to severity of
infection and all pregnant women in Denmark between March 1 and October 31, 2020.
Table 2. Outcomes for women with SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnancy compared to all
pregnancies in Denmark between March 1 and October 31, 2020.
Table 3. Outcomes for women with severe COVID-19 infection requiring admission to hospital
compared to less severe SARS-CoV-2 cases in pregnancy in Denmark between March 1 and
October 31, 2020 as registered in the Danish COVID-19 in pregnancy database (DCOD).
Table S1. Procedure and diagnostic codes used to identify the overall study population in the
Danish National Patient Register (DNPR).
Table S2. Procedure and diagnostic codes used to identify basic characteristics and outcomes in the
Danish National Patient Register (DNPR).
Table S3. Definition of pre-existing medical problems and previous pregnancy-related
complications in DCOD.
Table S4: Additional basic characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 infected women overall and according
to severity of infection and all pregnant women in Denmark between March 1 and October 31,
2020.
Figure S1: Absolute number of SARS-CoV-2 positive cases and overall incidence per 1000
pregnancies per month in Denmark between March 1 and October 31, 2020.
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Women with a registered
pregnancy, abortion, birth, or
pregnancy-related ultrasound in
DNPR
1 March – 31 October 2020
(N = 84,862)
Delivered*
(n = 46,909)
Pregnancies
(n = 82,682)
Excluded:
- Liveborn child with missing GA (n = 406)
- No registration of birth, miscarriage, TOP, or
ultrasound during study period (n = 2965)
- GA > 45 at end of follow-up and no
registration of birth, miscarriage, or TOP
(n = 187)Pregnant women
(n = 81,304)
Infants
(n = 47,575)
Non-infected
pregnancies
(n = 82,262)
Pregnancies with positive
SARS-CoV-2 test
(n = 420)
Figure 1
B) Flow through the Danish COVID-19 in pregnancy database (DCOD) studyA) Flow through the register study
Delivered*
(n = 209)
Infants
(n = 211)
* The number of deliveries differs in the two sub-studies due to different follow-up times. Women identified in the register study were followed up until 11 December 2020 and women identified in the DCOD study until 8 February 2021.
b/c: because. DNPR: Danish National Patient Register. GA: Gestational age in completed weeks. MiBa: The Danish Microbiology Database TOP: Termination of pregnancy
Admission b/c of COVID-
19
(n = 23 [5.5%])
Uncomplicated
SARS-CoV-2 infection
(n = 395 [94.5%])
Women with positive
SARS-CoV-2 reported by
obstetric departments
(n = 214)
Women with a positive SARS-CoV-2 test in pregnancy
1 March – 31 October 2020
(n = 418)
Women with positive SARS-
CoV-2 test during pregnancy
identified bimonthly
retrospectively in DNPR and
MiBa
(N = 418)
Excluded:
- Duplicates (n = 170)
Excluded:
- Duplicates (n = 10)
- No registered department
(n = 15)
- Not pregnant at time of
SARS-CoV-2 test: (n = 19)
Women with positive
SARS-CoV-2 test
identified in registries
n = 374)
Delivered*
(n = 279)
Infants
(n = 281)
Descriptive and outcome
analyses
Outcome analyses
Outcome analyses
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Table 1. Basic characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 infected women overall and according to severity of infection and all pregnant women in Denmark between March 1
and October 31, 2020.
SARS-CoV-2
infected pregnant
women identified
in DCOD
SARS-CoV-2
infected pregnant
women /
pregnancies
identified in the
national registers
Non-infected
pregnancies
identified in the
national registers
SARS-CoV-2 infected vs. non-
infected pregnancies SARS-CoV-2 infected women identified in DCOD
DCOD SARS-
CoV-2 cases
Register SARS-
CoV-2 cases
Women requiring
admission to
hospital due to
COVID-19
symptoms
Women with
uncomplicated
SARS-CoV-2
infection*
Women requiring
hospital admission
due to COVID-19
symptoms vs.
women with
uncomplicated
SARS-CoV-2
infection*
N = 418 N = 420 N = 82 262 ORD (95% CI) ORR (95% CI) N = 23 N = 395 ORDCOD (95% CI) P
Basic
characteristics
Age < 25 51 (12.2) 48 (11.4) 10 324 (12.6) 1(ref.) 1(ref.)
25-34 291 (69.6) 297 (70.7) 57 372 (69.7) 1.02 (0.75–1.41) 1.11 (0.82–1.51)
≥ 35 76 (18.2) 75 (17.9) 14 566 (17.7) 1.05 (0.73–1.53) 1.11 (0.77–1.59)
≥ 30 10 (43.5) 185 (47.0) 0.87 (0.37–2.03)
median 29.6 (27.0–33.4) 29.0 (27.0–33.0) 30.0 (27.0–33.0) NA 0.99 (0.97–1.01) 29.9 (25.4–33.2) 29.5 (27.0–33.5) 0.750
BMI
< 25
(normal) 241 (60.3) 113 (55.1) 27 083 (58.5) 1(ref.) 1(ref.) 10 (43.5) 232 (61.4) 1 (ref)
25 - 29.9
(overweight) 93 (23.3) 61 (29.8) 11 904 (25.7) 0.88 (0.68–1.12) 1.23 (0.90–1.68) 6 (26.1) 87 (23.0) 1.60 (0.56–4.52)
≥ 30 (obese) 7 (30.4) 59 (15.6) 2.74 (1.00–7.51)
30 - 34.9
(obese) 44 (11.0) 23 (11.2) 4609 (9.9) 1.07 (0.75–1.48) 1.20 (0.76–1.87) > 4 < 40
≥ 35 (obese) 22 (5.5) 8 (3.9) 2729 (5.9) 0.91 (0.56–1.41) 0.70 (0.34–1.44) 19
missing 18 (4.3) 215 (51.2) 35 937 (43.7) 0 (0) 18 (4.6)
median 24.1 (26.9–33.4) 24.0 (22.0–27.0) 24.0 (21.0–27.0) NA 1.01 (0.99–1.04) 25.6 (23.7–31.2) 24.0 (21.6–27.6) 0.018
Smoking
Smoking in
pregnancy 27 (6.8) 10 (4.9) 3598 (7.9) 0.86 (0.58–1.27) 0.60 (0.32–1.13) 5 (22.7) 22 (5.9) 4.69 (1.58–13.90)
Unknown 23 (5.5) 214 (51.0) 36 478 (44.3) 1 (4.3) 22 (5.6)
Pre-existing asthma 21 (5.2) 23 (5.5) 1996 (2.4) 2.19 (1.41–3.41) 2.33 (1.53–3.56) 4 (17.4) 17 (4.4) 4.53 (1.39–14.79)
Unknown 12 (2.9) 0 (0) 12 (3.0)
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Pre-existing medical
problem† 82 (20.2) NA NA 8 (34.8) 74 (19.3) 2.23 (0.91–5.45)
Unknown 12 (2.9) 0 (0) 12 (3.0)
Migrant‡ 119 (32.2) NA 11 211 (18.3) 2.12 (1.70–2.64) NA 10 (47.6) 109 (31.3) 1.99 (0.82–4.83)
Unknown 49 (11.7) 2 (8.7) 47 (11.9)
COVID-19
characteristics
GA at infection§ (in
completed weeks) < 22 191 (45.8) 211 (50.2) NR 5 (21.7) 186 (47.2) 1 (ref)
22–27 76 (18.2) 77 (18.3) NR 7 (30.4) 69 (17.5) 3.77 (1.16–12.29)
28–36 97 (23.3) 89 (21.2) NR 11 (47.8) 86 (21.8) 4.76 (1.60–14.12)
37– 53 (12.7) 43 (10.2) NR 0 (0.0) 53 (13.5) NR
unknown 1 (0.2) 1 (0.3)
Median
22w6d (15w0d–
30w4d)
21w0d (14w0d–
29w0d) NR
26w4d (23w4d–
32w0d) 22w1d (14w4d–30w0d) 0.093
Pregnancy
characteristics
Parity Multiparous 230 (56.7) 218 (53.7) 39 727 (55.1) 1.07 (0.88–1.30) 0.95 (0.78–1.15) 16 (69.6) 219 (56.4) 1.76 (0.71–4.39)
Unknown 12 (2.9) 14 (3.3) 10 156 (12.3) 0 (0) 7 (1.8)
Multiple pregnancy < 3 <5 1005 (1.2) NA NA 0 (0) < 3
Unknown 4 (1.0) 0 (0) 4 (1.0)
Pre-
eclampsia/Eclampsia < 3 6 (1.4) 1642 (2.0) NA 0.71 (0.32–1.60) NA NA
GDM 19 (4.5) 22 (5.2) 3353 (4.1) 1.12 (0.71–1.78) 1.30 (0.85–2.00) 16 NA
Thromboembolic
event < 3 0 (0.0) 62 (0.1) NA NR 0 (0) < 3 NA
Data are presented as count (%) or median (interquartile range)
ORD was estimated using 2 x 2 contingency tables. OR R was for categorical outcomes estimated with univariate logistic regression and for continuous variables with linear regression with log-
transformed dependant variable.
ORDCOD was estimated using logistic regression.
* Uncomplicated COVID-19 included cases where women did not require admission to hospital due to COVID-19 symptoms. Includes women in home isolation or women admitted for obstetric
reason within 14 days of first positive COVID-19 test or symptoms.
† Pre-existing medical problems include endocrine, cardiac, renal, psychiatric, haematological, inflammatory and autoimmune disease, and cancer and HIV.
‡ migrant is defined as not born in Denmark. The comparator group are all women with a liveborn child in 2019 in Denmark (N = 61,167) (Statistics Denmark, https://statistikbanken.dk/FODIE.
[accessed 4 Feb. 2021]).
§ GA at infection is defined as date of first positive test in case of a PCR test or date of symptoms in case of an antibody test.
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BMI Body mass index; DCOD Danish COVID-19 in pregnancy database; GA Gestational age; NR Not relevant; NA Not available
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Table 2. Outcomes for women with SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnancy compared to all pregnancies in Denmark between March 1 and October 31, 2020.
SARS-CoV-2
infected pregnant
women identified
in DCOD
SARS-CoV-2
infected pregnant
women /
pregnancies
identified in the
national registers
Non-infected
pregnancies
identified in the
national registers SARS-CoV-2 infected vs. non-infected pregnancy*
DCOD SARS-CoV-2
cases Register SARS-CoV-2 cases
ORD (95% CI) ORR (95% CI) HRa (95% CI)
Maternal outcome N = 418 N = 420 N = 82 262
Pneumonia confirmed by radiologic examination 6 (1.5) <5 77 (0.1) 15.97 (6.92–36.86) NA
Unknown 11 (2.6)
Admission† to hospital due to COVID-19 23 (5.5) NA NA NA
Admission† to hospital for any reason 65 (15.5) NA NA NA
Admission to intensive care unit < 3 <5 264 (0.3) NA NA
Unknown 33 (7.9)
Death 0 (0) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) NA NA
Unknown 62 (14.8)
Early pregnancy loss < GA 22 11 (2.7) 11 (2.6) 6478 (7.9) NR NR 1.48 (0.82–2.67)
Unknown 7 (1.7)
5 4736 (5.8) NR NA
GA 12 - 21 4 (1.0) <5 1742 (2.1) NR NA
Missing information about GA 1 (0.2)
Ectopic pregnancy 3 (0.7) <5 512 (0.6) 1.15 (0.37–3.61) NA
Termination of pregnancy 11 (2.7) 10 (2.4) 5261 (6.4) NR NR 2.49 (1.34–4.64)
Unknown 6 (1.4)
5 4929 (6.0) NR NA
GA 12 - 22 5 (1.2) <5 332 (0.4) NR NA
Delivery outcome
Delivered‡ N = 279 N = 209 N = 46 909
Mode of delivery Vaginal 221 (79.2) 169 (80.9) 37 467 (79.9) 0.96 (0.72–1.28) 1.06 (0.75–1.50)
Operative vaginal
delivery 18 (6.5) 13 (6.2) 2583 (5.5) 1.18 (0.69–1.91) 1.14 (0.65–2.00)
Caesarean delivery (CD) 58 (20.8) 40 (19.1) 9442 (20.1) 1.04 (0.78–1.39)
Emergency CD 35 (12.5) 26 (12.4) 5368 (11.4) 1.11 (0.78–1.58) 1.10 (0.73–1.66)
Elective CD 23 (8.2) 14 (6.7) 3735 (8.0) 1.04 (0.68–1.59) 0.83 (0.48–1.43)
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Induction 72 (25.8) 47 (22.5) 10314 (22.0) 1.23 (0.94–1.62) 1.03 (0.74–1.43)
Preterm birth < GA
37 13 (4.7) 12 (5.7) 2539 (5.4) 0.85 (0.49–1.49) 1.06 (0.59–1.91) 0.94 (0.47–1.88)
Median (IQR)
40w0d (39w1d–
41w0d)
39w6d (38w6d–
40w6d)
40w1d (39w0d–
41w0d) NA 0.99 (0.98–1.00)
Interval between COVID-19 and delivery, days, median
(IQR) 88 (35–138) 76 (23–145) NR
Infant outcome
Number of infants N > 279 N > 209 N = 47 575
IUFD <3 < 5 134 (0.3) NA NA
Liveborn infants N = 279 N = 209 N = 47 441
NICU admission§ 28 (10.0) 5514 (9.3) 1.09 (0.74–1.61)
COVID-19 infection in neonate 0 (0.0) NA NA NA
Unknown 26 (9.3)
Congenital malformations 5 (1.8) NA NA NA
Unknown 1 (0.4)
APGAR 5 min < 7 0 (0) <5 482 (1.0) NR NA
Missing 3 (1.1) <5 768 (1.6)
Median 10 (10.0–10.0) 10.0 (10.0–10.0) 10.0 (10.0–10.0) NA 1.00 (1.00–1.00)
Umbilical cord pH
(arterial) < 7.10 8 (3.6) 6 (3.8) 1408 (4.6) 0.77 (0.38–1.56) 0.81 (0.36–1.84)
Missing 54 (19.4) 49 (23.4) 16 592 (35.0)
Median 7.24 (7.18–7.27) 7.2 (7.2–7.3) 7.2 (7.2–7.3) NA 1.00 (1.00–1.00)
Neonatal death 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 11 (0.0) NA NA
Data are presented as count (%) or median (interquartile range)
*ORD was estimated using 2 x 2 contingency tables. OR R were for categorical outcomes estimated with univariate logistic regression and for continuous variables with linear regression with
log-transformed dependant variable. HRa was estimated by a Cox regression adjusting for exposure time for relevant variables .
† Admission to hospital with a concurrent SARS-CoV-2 infection was defined as admission and discharge on two different dates and a positive SARS-CoV-2 test within 14 days of admission.
‡ The proportion of women, who had delivered at the time of analyses, varies due to different follow-up time in DCOD and the register data (please see methods section).
§ The comparator group are live born children who were admitted to a neonatal intensive care unit directly from a delivery or maternity ward and later discharged home or who died
among all liveborn children in Denmark in 2019 (N = 59,391). (Dansk Kvalitetsdatabase for Nyfødte (DKN). Datakvalitetsrapport 2019. Pg. 30. Available at: Microsoft Word – 2021-02-03
DKN_Datarapport_officiel (sundhed.dk) [Assessed 19 Feb 2021].
CD Caesarean delivery; DCOD Danish COVID-19 in pregnancy Database; GA Gestational age; IUFD Intrauterine fetal death; NICU Neonatal intensive care unit; NR Not relevant, ,
HRa: Adjusted for age and first day of the last menstrual period
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Table 3. Outcomes for women with severe COVID-19 infection requiring admission to hospital compared to less severe SARS-CoV-2 cases in pregnancy in Denmark
between March 1 and October 31, 2020 as registered in the Danish COVID-19 in pregnancy database (DCOD).
SARS-CoV-2 infected women registered in DCOD
Women requiring
admission to hospital due
to COVID-19 symptoms
Uncomplicated SARS-
CoV-2 infection*
N = 23 N = 395 OR (95% CI) P aOR (95% CI)†
Maternal outcome
N = 23 N = 395
Death 0 (0) 0 (0) NR
Missing information 1 (4.3) 61 (15.4)
EUG 0 (0) 3 (0.8) NR
Termination of pregnancy <
GA 23 0 (0) 11 (2.8) NR
Unknown 0 (0) 6 (1.5)
Delivered 17 (73.9) 262 (66.3) 1.44 (0.55–3.73) 1.74 (0.62–4.93)
Delivery outcome
Delivered N = 17 N = 262
Mode of delivery
Unassisted vaginal delivery 11 (64.7) 192 (73.3) 1 (ref) 1 (ref)
Operative vaginal delivery 0 (0.0) 18 (6.9) NR NR
Emergency CD 3 (17.6) 32 (12.2) 1.64 (0.43–6 19) 1.88 (0.46–7.74)
Elective CD 3 (17.6) 20 (7.6) 2.62 (0.67–10.17) 3.81 (0.85–17.09)
Induction 7 (41.2) 65 (24.8) 2.12 (0.78–5.80) 1.53 (0.52–4.49)
Interval between COVID-19
and delivery, days 62 (42–103) 91 (35–138) 0.250
Infant outcome
Liveborn infants N = 17 N = 262
GA at delivery 39w5d (38w4d–40w4d) 40w0d (39w1d–41w0d) 0.161
Preterm birth < GA 37 10 NA
NICU admission 4 (23.5) 24 (9.2) 3.05 (0.92–10.10) 3.37 (0.95–11.97)
Gender Boy 8 (47.1) 121 (46.2) 1.04 (0.39–2.77) 1.12 (0.40–3.15)
Weight at delivery, grams 3460 (3109–3810) 3475 (3198–3859) 0.733
APGAR 5 minutes < 7 0 (0) 0 (0) NR
Unknown 0 (0.0) 3 (1.1)
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Median 10 (10–10) 10 (10–10) 0.170
Umbilical cord pH (arterial) < 7.10 0 (0.0) 8 (3.7) NR
Unknown 6 (35.3) 48 (18.3)
Median 7.23 (7.17–1.28) 7.24 (7.18–7.27) 0.823
Congenital malformations 0 (0.0) 5 (1.9) NR NR
Unknown 0 (0.0) 1 (0.4)
Neonatal death 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) NR NR
Data are presented as count (%) or median (interquartile range)
OR was estimated using logistic regression.
* Uncomplicated COVID-19 included cases where women did not require admission to hospital due to COVID-19 symptoms. Includes women in home isolation or women admitted for
obstetric reason within 14 days of first positive COVID-19 test or symptoms.
†Adjusted for age, BMI, parity (nulli- or multiparity), and smoking
CD Caesarean delivery; DCOD Danish COvid-19 in pregnancy database; GA Gestational age; IUFD Intrauterine fetal death; NA not available; NICU Neonatal intensive care unit; NR not
relevant
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