Philippine Journal of Science
153 No. 6B: 2283-2294, December 2024
ISSN 0031 – 7683
Date Received: 04 Jul 2024
Association of COVID-19 Infection with Pregnancy and Fetal Outcomes among Unvaccinated Women in the City of Manila, the Philippines: a Multicenter Prospective Cohort Study
Erlidia F. Llamas-Clark1, Maria Stephanie Fay S. Cagayan2, Francisco M. Heralde III3, Mayan U. Lumandas4, Jeremiah F. Feliciano5, Paulyn Jean B. Rosell-Ubial6, Emmanuel S. Baja7,8, and Maria Esterlita T. Villanueva-Uy9
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, College of Medicine, University of the Philippines Manila, City of Manila, National Capital Region 1000 the Philippines 2Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Medicine, University of the Philippines Manila, City of Manila, National Capital Region 1000 the Philippines 3Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, College of Medicine, University of the Philippines Manila, City of Manila, National Capital Region 1000 the Philippines 4Department of Virology, Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, Muntinlupa City, National Capital Region 1781 the Philippines 5College of Medicine, University of the Philippines Manila, City of Manila, National Capital Region 1000 the Philippines 6College of Public Health, University of the Philippines Manila, City of Manila, National Capital Region 1000 the Philippines 7Institute of Clinical Epidemiology, National Institutes of Health, University of the Philippines, Manila, City of Manila, National Capital Region 1000 the Philippines 8Department of Clinical Epidemiology, College of Medicine, University of the Philippines Manila, City of Manila, National Capital Region 1000 the Philippines 9Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, University of the Philippines Manila, City of Manila, National Capital Region 1000 the Philippines
*Corresponding author: efllamasclark@up.edu.ph
Llamas-Clark E et al. 2024. Association of COVID-19 Infection with Pregnancy and Fetal Outcomes among Unvaccinated Women in the City of Manila, the Philippines: a Multicenter Prospective Cohort Study. Philipp J Sci 153(6B): 2283–2294.
ABSTRACT
The influence of COVID-19 on maternal-fetal outcomes is a growing area of research yet understudied in the Philippines. This study analyzed associations between COVID-19 status and maternal, fetal, and pregnancy complications and outcomes among unvaccinated women in the City of Manila, the Philippines. This multicenter prospective cohort study ascertained the pregnancy status with sonographic studies, the presence of SARS-CoV-2 with reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction, and sociodemographic and medical information with a validated health questionnaire. Crude and adjusted generalized linear models with a Poisson distribution were fitted to estimate the influence of COVID-19 status and maternal, fetal, and pregnancy outcomes. COVID-19 infection appears correlated with higher absolute risks of gestational hypertension, fetal growth restriction, maternal preterm births, fetal prematurity, and COVID-19-associated complications, and a lower risk of anesthesia-associated complications, obstetric hemorrhages, and NICU admissions. Cesarean section was more frequently done to infected patients, yet the disease showed little association with poor maternalfetal outcomes. COVID-19 has some association with gestational and neonatal complications but has little association with poor maternal, pregnancy, and fetal outcomes.