Case series of 20 pregnant women with 2019 novel coronavirus disease in Wuhan, China

Aim To evaluate perinatal outcomes regarding clinical presentation in pregnancy and the vertical transmission potential of COVID‐19. Methods Clinical records, laboratory findings, and chest computed tomography (CT) scans were retrospectively reviewed from 20 pregnant patients with laboratory‐confirmed COVID‐19 who were admitted to Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University and The Third Hospital of Wuhan, from Jan 20 to Mar 16, 2020, including three in the first‐trimester, two in the second‐trimester, and 15 in the third‐trimester. Evidence of vertical transmission was assessed by testing for neonatal throat swab samples. The pathological changes of COVID‐19 on the placenta is evaluated by hematoxylin‐eosin staining. Results The most common symptoms of the pregnant women with SARS‐CoV‐2 infection were fever and cough, which is comparable to the nonpregnant adults with COVID‐19 infection. Nobody was transferred to intensive care unit (ICU) for treatment and there were no maternal and neonatal deaths. However, there was one case with induced abortions on first‐trimester (due to pregnant woman's concerns about COVID‐19), one diagnosed with ectopic pregnancy, no intrauterine fetal deaths during the study period. Delivery occurred in 15 patients in the third trimester. Their incidence of preterm birth was 20%. Three of the four preterm births were spontaneous. The average length of stay was 20.77 days. No neonatal SARS‐CoV‐2 infection was detected. There were two placentas found with acute chorioamnionitis, one showed normal placenta morphology. Conclusion In this case series study, COVID‐19 had no short‐term adverse effect on pregnant women except premature birth. The vertical transmission of SARS‐CoV‐2 did not occur in our study.