COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, has led to an unprecedented global pandemic affecting persons of all ages. Pregnant women are in a physiologic immunosuppressed situation and have a greater risk and severity of respiratory infection. However, considerable uncertainty exists regarding the potential for vertical transmission (prenatal/congenital or perinatal) of SARS-CoV-2 from infected pregnant women to their newborns and its potential clinical consequences.
This study attempts to provide evidence-based guidelines for managing antenatal, intrapartum, and neonatal care around COVID-19 require an understanding of whether the virus can be transmitted transplacentally; a determination of which maternal body fluids may be infectious; trasnplacental and human milk antibody transfer and data of adequate statistical power that describe which maternal, intrapartum, and neonatal factors influence perinatal transmission.
