Reflections on How to Maintain and Improve Perinatal Care in the Midst of the COVID 19 Pandemic: Let’s not Forget Mothers and Newborn Babies!

Background: The current COVID-19 pandemic has become the most serious public health problem in the world. To respond to COVID-19 pandemia, many countries are using a combination of containment and mitigation activities, with solidarity efforts and resources and funds devoted to its prevention and intensive treatment. To date (April 6, 2020) there are about 1,360,000 confirmed cases and there have been 75,700 deaths reported in 205 countries. However, no serious harm has been reported in infants born to mothers with SARS-CoV-2. Current data suggest that vertical transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is at least uncommon. On the other hand, in many nations overall neonatal mortality rates remain high despite the fact that more than 50% of the neonatal deaths are reducible.

Objective: Analyze overall population mortality rates in the USA, China and in the 7 Latin American countries with the highest number of births to subsequently compare such data to: a) the mortality due to the COVID-19 pandemic to date, and b) to the current neonatal mortality rates and reducible neonatal mortality in the same regions of the world.

Methods: Data were obtained from several sources, including Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Johns Hopkins University and Global Health Observatory data repository. Data was compared through tables and descriptive measures. Estimations were performed to assess contribution of mortality due to COVID 19 to the overall mortality and to compare the population mortality and the neonatal mortality due to COVID 19 to neonatal mortality and to reducible neonatal deaths.

Findings: The average number of people dying every day from diverse causes in the 7 Latin American nations combined is 8,930, in the USA is approximately 7,880 and in China 26,000 people die every day. The contribution of the mortality due to COVID 19 to the general mortality to date is about 0,1-0,99 ‰. The number of persons who have died per day due to COVID 19 is estimated to be 120 in USA, and it was 37 in China, and this is reducible mortality. Neonatal mortality due to COVID-19 has occurred in 1 infant reported to date, and it seems to be extremely rare. In contrast, combining the yearly neonatal deaths from the 7 Latin American nations together with China and the USA, about 399 newborns die every day during one year. Close to 70,000 newborn infants die per year in the 7 Latin American countries with the largest populations. Eliminating neonatal reducible deaths by improving quality of perinatal care, there would be about 35,000 deaths less per year. In China and the USA decreasing reducible mortality could lead to at least 10,000 more infants surviving every year.

Conclusion: Significant efforts and funds are being dedicated to eliminate COVID 19 as a cause of death and they are starting to prove to be effective to eliminate or significantly reduce COVID 19 as a cause of reducible mortality. If reducible neonatal deaths were approached in a similar way, unnecessary and preventable neonatal mortality would cease to exist or be significantly reduced, with drastically less economic costs.

In addition, perinatal and neonatal care should not suffer by this pandemia. Long-term consequences of unnecessary termination of pregnancy, preventing breastfeeding and separation of the mother from the newborn can be very harmful. As pediatricians, neonatologists and neonatal nurses we must not distract our care efforts as this may negatively impact over perinatal well-being. Moreover, recommendations that contradict known evidence cannot and should not be made at this time

Keywords: COVID 19; Perinatal care; Neonatal mortality

Abbreviations: NICU: Newborn intensive care unit; CRP: C-reactive protein; PCT: Procalcitonin; EOBS: Early onset bacterial sepsis; WHO: World Health Organization; NEC: Necrotizing enterocolitis; BPD: Bronchopulmonary dysplasia; AMR: Antimicrobial resistance; NNT: Number needed to treat; SIBEN: Ibero american society of neonatology