clinical characteristics and outcome of neonates born to sars-cov2 positive mothers: an observation study from a single center in south india

Background: theworld health organization has declared coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19) a pandemic worldwide. older people, individuals with comorbidities, and pregnant women are more susceptible to this virus, leading to adverse outcomes and mortality. methods: mothers with covid-19 were divided into two groups of symptomatic and asymptomatic positive cases. neonates were clinically evaluated and screened at 24 - 48 hours of age for sars-cov-2 by real-time polymerase chain reaction. maternal and neonatal demographics, clinical characteristics, and follow-up at 14 days post-discharge were recorded. the adverse birth outcomes, preterm premature rupture of membrane (pprom), cesarean section delivery (c-section), and duration of hospital stay were evaluated. results: out of 453 pregnant women, 59 (13.1%) and 394 (86.9%) were positive and negative for sars-cov-2, respectively.we subclassified 59 infected pregnantwomeninto two groups symptomatic (10.1%) and asymptomatic (89.8%). thepprom(p = 0.001), gestational diabetes mellitus (p = 0.006), c-section (p = 0.002), and apgar score (p = 0.029) had a significant association with sars-cov-2 presence in mothers and neonates. conclusions: none of the neonates from infected pregnant women were infected with sars-cov-2, suggesting negligible risk for mother-to-child transmission of the virus. however, the mother-newborn dyad needs to be followed up further to confirm our results.