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How COVID-19 affects pregnancy outcomes is an important topic researchers are investigating.
How COVID-19 affects pregnancy outcomes is an important topic researchers are investigating.
What you need to know
A new research study investigates how COVID-19 affects pregnant women and their newborns.
What is this research about?
The study aims to answer three questions:
- Have serious illness and death among pregnant women increased since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic?
- Does having COVID-19 raise a pregnant woman’s risk of serious illness or death?
- Does having COVID-19 affect a woman’s pregnancy, her delivery, or the health of her newborn?
What are the researchers doing?
Using the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Maternal-Fetal Medicine Units (MFMU) Network, which is made up of 12 hospitals around the United States, researchers will look at the outcomes of 24,400 births at these hospitals, comparing data from 2019 and 2020. They also will look at information about women who had COVID-19 while they were pregnant or right after giving birth.
Why is this research important?
Research into COVID-19 has been rapid and revealing, but there is still much we do not know. One important question is how the virus affects pregnant women and newborns.
Where can I go to learn more?
- In this blog post, NIH Director Francis Collins, M.D., Ph.D., and NICHD Director Diana Bianchi, M.D., discuss what’s known so far about SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19, and its effects on pregnancy, delivery, and infant health.
Maternal Morbidity and Mortality During the COVID-19 Pandemic
- Read more about this NIH-funded study and who is able to participate in the study.
- Find out more about COVID-19 and opportunities to participate in clinical trials.
Sources
Koplon, S. (2020, November 9). Studies of COVID-19 in pregnancy aim to better understand virus’s impact. UAB News. https://www.uab.edu/news/research/item/11679-studies-of-covid-19-in-pregnancy-aim-to-better-understand-virus-s-impact
The George Washington University. (2020). Maternal-Fetal Medicine Units Network. Retrieved November 27, 2020, from https://mfmunetwork.bsc.gwu.edu/PublicBSC/MFMU/MFMUPublic/
How COVID-19 Affects Pregnancy
Should you get the vaccine during pregnancy? Does the vaccine cause infertility? NIH research is helping to answer these questions and more.
News and Stories
Read stories about the efforts underway to prevent, detect, and treat COVID-19 and its effects on our health.