Materials and methods
Between 31 January to 20 April 2020, 8 pregnant women had experienced vaginal delivery in Union Hospital affiliated hospital of Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology (Wuhan, China). These patients fulfilled the diagnosis criteria for COVID-19 pneumonia according to New Coronavirus Pneumonia Prevention and Control Program (7th edition) which was published by the National Health Commission of China[6]. All the eight patients didn’t have contraindications for vaginal delivery. In accordance with patients’ wishes, all of them delivered in a negative pressure operating room after fully communications with patients about the advantages and disadvantages of vaginal delivery and cesarean section.
The clinical data including basic information, duration of labor, whether there was an episiotomy or poor healing of episiotomy, postpartum hemorrhage, clinical classification of pneumonia, lung CT images and laboratory data were collected. All eight pregnant women with COVID-19 pneumonia tested SARS-CoV-2 by using quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR) on samples from the respiratory tract. Pregnant women who were admitted after March venous blood was collected and tested for antibodies IgM/G by Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. When the cervix dilatation reached 4cm, pregnant women were sent to negative pressure rooms for delivery. Pregnant women were advised to wear surgical mask all the time, and newborns were prevented from touching their mothers.
The neonatal outcomes were recorded. Neonatal throat secretions and anal swabs were taken immediately after birth to test SARS-COV-2 by using quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR), and then the newborns were sent to the isolation ward. Two newborns were taken home instead of isolation ward because their mothers’ SARS-COV-2 PCR results came negative. We followed up the mothers and babies for one month after delivery. Followed up information included the maternal vaginal bleeding, clinical symptoms of COVID-19 pneumonia such as fever, diarrhea and so on. We also recorded the hospital stay of neonates, neonatal complications and weight of the neonates after a month.