The Lingering Effects of COVID-19 on Pregnancies

While the COVID-19 pandemic's grip has loosened, recent data highlights alarming trends in pregnancy outcomes for mothers who contracted the virus. A groundbreaking analysis from Panalgo, a Norstella company, unveiled at ICPE 2025, indicates that pregnant women who tested positive for COVID-19 face a significant increase in the risk of preterm births.

This study compared claims data from U.S. healthcare records, revealing that infected mothers are more likely to deliver prematurely. Interestingly, the data also suggested a decrease in low birth weight among infants, though the significance of this finding remains unclear. Mike Munsell, Ph.D., from Panalgo, stated, "This is just the starting point to explore the long-term impacts of COVID-19 on offspring outcomes."

Diving Deeper into the Data

The presentation titled "The Effect of COVID-19 During Pregnancy on Fetal Outcomes: A Propensity Score-Matched Analysis Using Mother-Infant Linked Claims Data" took a unique approach by linking records from mothers and infants, shedding light on how the infection relates to delivery outcomes. Munsell pointed out the robustness of their data, stating, "We can connect mothers to their infants and analyze various factors influencing outcomes."

The results indicate a perplexing situation: mothers exposed to COVID-19 during pregnancy show an increased likelihood of preterm delivery while also having lower rates of low birth weight in their babies. Munsell emphasized, "This contradiction in findings warrants further investigation as it reveals noise in the data that needs to be addressed through expanded socio-demographic insights."

Looking Ahead: Tracking the 'Children of COVID'