The Impact of Coronavirus Disease 2019 on Pregnant Women is Multifaceted [Letter]

Dear editor

With great interest, we have read the research by Amani Abdelmola et al about characteristics and outcomes of coronavirus disease-2019 among pregnant women in Saudi Arabia.¹ The purpose of this research is to determine the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection on pregnant women in the Jazan region of Saudi Arabia. This study has shown that COVID-19 poses significant risks to pregnant women, particularly in the third trimester, and emphasized the importance of early identification of high-risk pregnancies, strategic planning, and enhanced monitoring during antenatal care. The study’s participants included all pregnant women, how had SARS-CoV-2 infection diagnosed at any point from the date of conception to the date the pregnancy ended presented to Jazan hospitals during the period between March 2020 and March 2022. Based on the data, the results of the study included: intensive care unit (ICU) admission rate, delivery mode, newborn situation, etc.

It is worth noting that there were differences in the virulence of viruses in different periods. Omicron, for example, was less pathogenic than before.² Therefore, the authors’ results may reflect pregnancy outcomes caused by the virus at that time. In order to distinguish the effects of different strains, it may be important to classify viruses. Another thing to note is vertical transmission.³ For those negative pregnancy outcomes, did vertical transmission occur in those cases? Whether vertical transmission was associated with adverse outcomes? In addition, pregnant women with severe infection may require cesarean section. What were the surgical indications for those who did cesarean section? All of these factors may affect pregnancy outcomes, further clinical evaluation is important.

Overall, this study reports the impact of COVID-19 infection on pregnant women in Saudi Arabia, some of the adverse pregnancy outcomes could be serious and noteworthy.