Changes in rates of adverse pregnancy outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study in the United States, 2019-2020

Objective: Our objective was to assess differences in pregnancy outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the previous year.

Study design: In a cross-sectional study of delivery hospitalizations in the Premier Healthcare Database Special COVID-19 Release, we assessed differences in selected maternal and pregnancy outcomes occurring April-December in 2019 and 2020 in the United States.

Result: Among 663,620 deliveries occurring in 2019 and 614,093 deliveries occurring in 2020, we observed an increase in in-hospital maternal death from 2019 to 2020, which was no longer statistically significant after excluding deliveries with a COVID-19 diagnosis. Intensive care unit admission and preterm birth decreased from 2019 to 2020. There was no difference in the prevalence of most other outcomes examined.

Conclusion: The full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on maternal and pregnancy outcomes remains to be understood. Most outcomes investigated experienced minimal change from 2019 to 2020.