Introduction
In December 2019, the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 was identified in a
series of pneumonia cases in Wuhan, China. COVID-19 is the name given to
the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2. In the UK, the first wave of the
COVID-19 pandemic occurred during the first half of 2020. Whilst many
cases in the pregnant population are mild, or even asymptomatic, those with severe disease can become critically
unwell and require ventilatory support . Although pregnant patients do
not seem to suffer more severe disease than non-pregnant patients, those
with COVID-19 are at an increased risk of serious obstetric
complications such as miscarriage, preterm birth, pre-eclampsia, and
peri-natal death . Histopathological studies of the placentas of
patients with COVID-19 show an increase in maternal venous malperfusion
(MVM), which is known to be associated with both poor fetal outcomes and
maternal hypertensive disorders . There is therefore biological
plausibility that the rates of both placental abruption and in-utero
fetal death (IUD) will increase in the era of COVID 19 (regardless of
whether or not the patients tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection
given the possibility of asymptomatic infection and the complications of
lack of testing in the early stages of the pandemic). The objective of
this study is to evaluate the frequency and clinical characteristics of
women suffering IUD and placental abruption in the pandemic period, and
compare them to the pre pandemic period.