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.