Abstract
In December 2019, cases of pneumonia of unknown cause first started to appear in Wuhan
in China; subsequently, a new coronavirus was soon identified as the cause of the
illness, now known as Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Since then, infections
have been confirmed worldwide in numerous countries, with the number of cases steadily
rising. The aim of the present review is to provide an overview of the new severe
acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and, in particular, to
deduce from it potential risks and complications for pregnant patients. For this purpose,
the available literature on cases of infection in pregnancy during the SARS epidemic
of 2002/2003, the MERS (Middle East respiratory syndrome) epidemic ongoing since 2012,
as well as recent publications on cases infected with SARS-CoV-2 in pregnancy are
reviewed and reported. Based on the literature available at the moment, it can be
assumed that the clinical course of COVID-19 disease may be complicated by pregnancy
which could be associated with a higher mortality rate. It may also be assumed at
the moment that transmission from mother to child in utero is unlikely. Breastfeeding
is possible once infection has been excluded or the disease declared cured.
Key words
COVID-19 - coronavirus - SARS-CoV-2 - 2019-nCoV - pregnancy
