Incidence, Clinical Characteristics, and Risk Factors of SARS-CoV-2 Infection among Pregnant Individuals in the United States

Dawood, Fatimah S; Varner, Michael; Tita, Alan; Newes-Adeyi, Gabriella; Gyamfi-Bannerman, Cynthia; Battarbee, Ashley; Bruno, Ann; Daugherty, Michael; Reichle, Lawrence; Vorwaller, Kelly; Vargas, Celibell; Parks, Mickey; Powers, Emily; Lucca-Susana, Miriam; Gibson, Marie; Subramaniam, Akila; Cheng, Yiling J; Feng, Pei-Jean; Ellington, Sascha; Galang, Romeo R; Meece, Jennifer; Flygare, Chris; Stockwell, Melissa S

BACKGROUND: Data about the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection among pregnant individuals are needed to inform infection prevention guidance and counseling for this population. METHODS: We prospectively followed a cohort of pregnant individuals during August 2020–March 2021 at three U.S. sites. The three primary outcomes were incidence rates of any SARS-CoV-2 infection, symptomatic infection, and asymptomatic infection, during pregnancy during periods of SARS-CoV-2 circulation. Participants self-collected weekly mid-turbinate nasal swabs for SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR testing, completed weekly illness symptom questionnaires, and submitted additional swabs with COVID-19–like symptoms. An overall SARS-CoV-2 infection incidence rate weighted by population counts of women of reproductive age in each state was calculated. RESULTS: Among 1098 pregnant individuals followed for a mean of 10 weeks, nine percent (99/1098) had SARS-CoV-2 infections during the study. Population weighted incidence rates of SARS-CoV-2 infection were 10.0 per 1,000 (95% confidence interval [CI] 5.7–14.3) person-weeks for any infection, 5.7 per 1,000 (95% CI 1.7-9.7) for symptomatic infections, and 3.5 per 1,000 (95% CI 0-7.1) for asymptomatic infections. Among 96 participants with SARS-CoV-2 infection and symptom data, the most common symptoms were nasal congestion (72%), cough (64%), headache (59%), and change in taste or smell (54%); 28% had measured or subjective fever. The median symptom duration was 10 days (IQR6-16 days). CONCLUSION: Pregnant individuals had a 1% risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection per week. Study findings provide information about SARS-CoV-2 infection risk during pregnancy to inform counseling for pregnant individuals about infection prevention practices, including COVID-19 vaccination.