COVID-19 in obstetrics 2020: the experience at a New York City medical center

• Published in: Journal of perinatal medicine Vol. 48; no. 9; pp. 892 - 899
• Main Authors: Dayal, Ashlesha K., Razavi, Armin S., Jaffer, Amir K., Prasad, Nishant, Skupski, Daniel W.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Germany De Gruyter 26.11.2020; Walter de Gruyter GmbH
• Subjects: Betacoronavirus; Coronavirus Infections - complications; Coronavirus Infections - epidemiology; Coronavirus Infections - therapy; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; Critical Care - statistics & numerical data; Emergency Service, Hospital - statistics & numerical data; Female; health system resources; Hospital Administration; Hospitals - statistics & numerical data; Humans; Infant, Newborn; New York City - epidemiology; Obstetrics; Obstetrics - methods; Obstetrics - statistics & numerical data; Pandemics; Personal Protective Equipment - statistics & numerical data; Personnel Staffing and Scheduling; Pneumonia, Viral - complications; Pneumonia, Viral - epidemiology; Pneumonia, Viral - therapy; Pregnancy; Pregnancy Complications, Infectious - epidemiology; Pregnancy Complications, Infectious - therapy; Pregnancy Complications, Infectious - virology; Prenatal care; SARS-CoV-2; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Surge Capacity - organization & administration; Surge Capacity - statistics & numerical data; New York City; United States > US; New York City New York; COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; obstetrics; health system resources; pregnancy
• ISSN: 0300-5577; 1619-3997
• DOI: 10.1515/jpm-2020-0365

The global spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus during the early months of 2020 was rapid and exposed vulnerabilities in health systems throughout the world. Obstetric SARS-CoV-2 disease was discovered to be largely asymptomatic carriage but included a small rate of severe disease with rapid decompensation in otherwise healthy women. Higher rates of hospitalization, Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admission and intubation, along with higher infection rates in minority and disadvantaged populations have been documented across regions. The operational gymnastics that occurred daily during the Covid-19 emergency needed to be translated to the obstetrics realm, both inpatient and ambulatory. Resources for adaptation to the public health crisis included workforce flexibility, frequent communication of operational and protocol changes for evaluation and management, and application of innovative ideas to meet the demand.