COPE - COVID-19 in Pregnancy and Early Childhood

Purpose: The emergence of a new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 causing a novel infection in thehuman race resulting in a world-spanning pandemic came as a surprise and at a tremendouscost both for individual human lives as well as for the society and the health caresector. The knowledge on how this new infection affects both the mother and the unbornchild as well as the outcomes for the mother and the child in the long run are unknown.What is known is based on case-reports and small case-series solely. Both thecoronaviruses causing Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe AcuteRespiratory Syndrome (SARS) can cause a threat to pregnant women and their offspring,which leads to the question whether this could be the case also for SARS-CoV-2.Aims: To establish a biobank of biological material from infected as well as non-infectedpregnant women and their offspring. To combine this biobank with Swedish quality andhealth care registers, computerized patient charts and questionnaire data, enabling bothshort-term follow up, such as obstetric outcomes, as well as long-term outcomes both formother and child. To study how the pandemic situation affects both the mother and herpartner in their experience of pregnancy, childbirth, and early parenthood.Design: A national Swedish multicentre study. Women are included when they have apositive test for SARS-CoV-2 or a clinical suspicion of coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19) (COVID-19 group). Pregnant women without COVID-19 symptoms will be included attheir routine visits (Screening group). Blood samples and other biological material willbe collected at different time-points. Additional predictors and outcomes are collectedfrom the Swedish Pregnancy Register as well as obligatory Swedish health registers. Thebiobank and its linkage to health registers through the Swedish personal identificationnumber will enable future research. Child development will be followed during the firstyear of life by questionnaires to the parents. Womens' and their partners' experience ofchildbirth and parenthood will be studied in form of questionnaires as well as in form ofinterviews.Conclusion: This project will help obstetricians and neonatologists better recognizeclinical manifestations of the virus, identify possible risk factors during pregnancy andtailor therapies alongside providing right level of surveillance and management duringpregnancy, delivery, and child health care.