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Among women with private health insurance and access to care, the incidence of a positive screen for postpartum depression is approximately 7%. The use of an SSRI did not eliminate this risk. All women should be screened for postpartum depression.

Background Reports of SARS-CoV2 infection have focused on pregnant women hospitalized due to moderate to severe COVID-19 disease or asymptomatic women diagnosed through universal screening at the time of obstetric admission. Many pregnant women who have symptomatic SARS-CoV2 infection may not meet criteria for hospitalization; however, whether and how these women can be managed safely in outpatient setting is not well described. Objective We sought to describe the time to symptom and viral clearance and to identify predictors of hospitalization in order to better understand the safety of monitoring pregnant patients with symptomatic COVID-19 in the outpatient setting. Study Design We performed a retrospective cohort study of pregnant patients with symptomatic, confirmed COVID-19 illness at a large academic medical center. Patients had systematic telehealth follow up by a clinician team to assess for symptoms, provide virtual prenatal care, and arrange in-person visits when appropriate in a dedicated outpatient center. Data was collected via chart abstraction. Results Of 180 pregnant patients presenting with symptoms and undergoing RT-PCR testing, 67 patients with confirmed COVID-19 infection were identified during the study period. Nineteen (28%) required acute care given worsening of COVID-19 symptoms, and 95% of these were directed to this acute care setting due to symptom severity telehealth evaluation. Nine women (13%) were admitted to the hospital given worsening symptoms, 3 required ICU care, 2 required ventilatory support, and 2 required delivery. Women with the presenting symptoms of fever, cough, shortness of breath, chest pain, or nausea and vomiting were more likely to require admission. The median duration from initial positive test to RT-PCR viral clearance was 26 days. Disease progression, time to viral clearance and duration of symptoms did not vary significantly by trimester of infection. Conclusions Management of the majority of pregnant women with symptomatic COVID-19 illness can be accomplished in the outpatient setting with intensive and protocol-driven monitoring for symptom progression.

There was no observed increase in women attending their 6-week postpartum visits, yet rates of completed orders for postpartum testing, women attending visits fasting, and postpartum test completions were higher post-intervention. More research may identify the barriers to attendance at 6-week postpartum visits.