Abstract
BACKGROUND: Pregnant women are at an increased risk of severe COVID-19 and adverse pregnancy outcomes; data on maternal long-term outcome is scarce. We analyzed long-term follow-ups on women who experienced a SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy to evaluate post-COVID symptoms, particularly fatigue, and their association with quality of life (QoL). METHODS: 773 women who enrolled in the CRONOS registry between April 2020 and August 2021 were contacted for follow-up from December 2022 to April 2023. Data was gathered through a web-based questionnaire. Subsequently, study coordinators matched the follow-up data with the existing CRONOS data. RESULTS: 110/773 (14%) women provided data. 20.9% experienced only acute symptoms during their SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnancy, while 2.7% women experienced symptoms lasting longer than 4 weeks (long COVID). Symptoms lasting longer than 12 weeks (post-COVID) were reported by 63.6% women and occurred more often after severe COVID-19. Fatigue was the most frequently reported symptom (88%), with 55% of women still experiencing it more than one year after initial infection. 76% of women rated their QoL as "good" or "very good". Women experiencing post-COVID reported a significantly lower QoL. CONCLUSION: This is the first German long-term data on women after SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy, showing a high rate of post-COVID, a persistence of fatigue, and the impact on QoL. Continuous monitoring of pregnant women with COVID-19 is needed to develop comprehensive management strategies.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 74-79 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Zeitschrift fur Geburtshilfe und Neonatologie |
Volume | 228 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 8 Feb 2024 |
Keywords
- Infant, Newborn
- Female
- Pregnancy
- Humans
- Male
- COVID-19/epidemiology
- Pilot Projects
- Quality of Life
- SARS-CoV-2
- Post-Acute COVID-19 Syndrome
- Follow-Up Studies
- Pregnancy Complications, Infectious/diagnosis epidemiology
- Pregnancy Outcome/epidemiology
- Outcome Assessment, Health Care