Antibody status at delivery and pregnancy outcomes during the first Danish COVID-19 wave

Abstract

INTRODUCTION. We aimed to investigate the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection and SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in parturient women and their newborns during the first Danish COVID-19 wave and to identify associations with maternal background characteristics, self-reported symptoms, and pregnancy outcomes. METHODS. In a single-centre, prospective cohort study from Denmark, we invited 1,883 women with singleton pregnancies giving live birth from 25 May 2020 to 2 November 2020. Hereof, 953 (50.6%) women were included. Nasopharyngeal swabs, maternal and umbilical cord blood samples, and questionnaires were collected. Medical records were available for participants and non-participants. RESULTS. SARS-CoV-2 antibodies were found in 1.3% of the women. All newborns of seropositive women had SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in cord blood. No association was found between SARS-CoV-2 antibodies and pregnancy outcomes. Self-reported loss of smell correlated with seropositivity (p < 0.001). No women were hospitalised due to COVID-19 during pregnancy or had a positive nasopharyngeal swab intrapartum. CONCLUSIONS. The prevalence of COVID-19 in pregnancy was low during the first wave. Maternal SARS-CoV-2 antibodies were associated with antibodies in cord blood, loss of smell and positive SARS-CoV-2 swab during pregnancy, but not with any adverse pregnancy outcomes.