Grant: Project Grant - PA: Pandemic and Health Emergencies Research

There is still a lot we do not know about risk factors and outcomes of COVID-19. Recent information suggests that pregnant women with COVID-19 have a higher risk of problems such as preeclampsia (high blood pressure), preterm birth, and being admitted to an intensive care unit. Children with COVID-19 are at risk of an inflammatory syndrome where multiple organs have a hard time working properly. It is possible that diseases at earlier points in life can help identify women and children at risk of COVID-19 disorders. A woman's health during pregnancy may indicate the risk of health problems later on for both her and her child, and may also help estimate their risk of severe COVID-19 disease. In this study, we will identify the medium and long-term outcomes of COVID-19 infection during pregnancy. We will also identify health characteristics earlier in the lives of women and children to see if they are associated with future COVID-19 severity. We will use a large dataset containing all mothers and infants born in hospitals in Quebec, Canada. We will follow women and children over time until the start of the pandemic. We will then identify women and children who developed a COVID-19 infection. We will determine if mothers and children exposed to problems like preeclampsia and preterm birth before the pandemic have a greater risk of severe COVID-19 infection during the pandemic. For women who had COVID-19 during pregnancy, we will follow them and their newborns for up to 1 year after delivery and examine their risk of hospitalization for persisting health problems. This project will help determine if health during pregnancy before the pandemic can be used to identify women and children at greater risk of a COVID-19 infection. The study will also help doctors better care for mothers and children who were exposed to COVID-19 infection during pregnancy by assessing their risk of health problems in the years after delivery.