Abstract
Our hospital is a designated medical institution for class 1 infectious diseases and a regional perinatal medical center where infants at 35 weeks of gestation or older can be delivered. We examined 40 pregnant women who tested positive for COVID-19 by PCR who visited our hospital. Two were in the first trimester, 7 in the second trimester, and 31 in the third trimester of pregnancy (18 at 37 weeks or later). Initially, all pregnant women who tested positive were hospitalized, but from August 2021, some were allowed to recover at home when they had mild COVID-19 or pregnancy was earlier than 37 weeks of gestation. In 28 hospitalized women, 10 gave birth at our hospital (1 by cesarean section and 9 by vaginal delivery). Pregnancy was ended early in response to COVID-19 in 3 cases, specifically, 1 by emergency cesarean section, 1 by emergency cesarean section at another hospital because of the timing (34 weeks), and 1 by induction of labor followed by vaginal delivery. Therapeutic intervention was provided in 5 cases (prednisolone in 4, heparin in 3, and both prednisolone and heparin in 2 cases). There were no cases of secondary infections of healthcare providers. Therapeutic intervention alleviated symptoms in some cases, suggesting that vaginal delivery can be an option for pregnant women with COVID-19 depending on COVID-19 symptoms and obstetric indications.
