Human coronavirus (HCoV) causes potentially fatal respiratory disease. Pregnancy is a physiological state that predisposes women to viral infection. In this review, we aim to present advances in the pathogenesis, clinical features, diagnosis, and treatment in HCoV in pregnancy. We retrieved information from the Pubmed database up to June 2020, using various search terms and relevant words, including coronaviruses, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus, Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus, 2019 coronavirus disease, and pregnancy. Both basic and clinical studies were selected. We found no evidence that pregnant women are more susceptible to HCoV infection or that those with HCoV infection are more prone to developing severe pneumonia. There is also no confirmed evidence of vertical mother-to-child transmission of HcoV infection during maternal HCoV infection. Those diagnosed with infection should be promptly admitted to a negative-pressure isolation ward, preferably in a designated hospital with adequate facilities and multi-disciplinary expertise to manage critically ill obstetric patients. Antiviral treatment has been routinely used to treat pregnant women with HCoV infection. The timing and mode of delivery should be individualized, depending mainly on the clinical status of the patient, gestational age, and fetal condition. Early cord clamping and temporary separation of the newborn for at least 2 weeks is recommended. All medical staff caring for patients with HCoV infection should use personal protective equipment. This review highlights the advances in pathogenesis, maternal-fetal outcome, maternal-fetal transmission, diagnosis and treatment in HCoV including severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus, Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus, and coronavirus disease 2019 in pregnancy.

Sepsis, which is life-threatening organ dysfunction resulting from a dysregulated host response to infection, remains a major cause for the admission of pregnant women to the intensive care unit and is one of the leading causes of maternal morbidity and mortality. The obstetric causes include uterine infection, septic abortion, and wound infection. The non-obstetric causes include pyelonephritis and pneumonia. Maternal sepsis may also be from obstetrical critical illness, such as obstetric severe hemorrhage, obstetric (amniotic fluid/pulmonary) embolism, acute fatty liver of pregnancy, and congestive heart failure, cardiopulmonary arrest, and major trauma. The most commonly reported pathogens in maternal sepsis include Escherichia coli, Streptococcus, Staphylococcus, and other gram-negative bacteria. Maternal sepsis may cause intrauterine infection, which results in (1) preterm premature rupture of membranes or preterm labor or birth, (2) cerebral white matter damage or cerebral palsy or neurodevelopmental delay, (3) stillbirth, (4) early- or late-onset sepsis, and (5) perinatal death. The “Hour-1 bundle” should be initiated within the first hour of the recognition of sepsis. The use of early, appropriate antibiotics is crucial in the management of maternal sepsis. Fetal status should be monitored. Appropriate and early source control should be provided. The decision for delivery is often quite complex and should be individualized to each patient's clinical scenario while taking into consideration the suspected source of infection, maternal status, fetal well-being, and gestational age. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation has been increasingly used in refractory sepsis during pregnancy and the puerperium.

Intraamniotic infection (IAI) or chorioamnionitis is a common cause of preterm birth and may cause adverse neonatal outcomes, including neonatal pneumonia, respiratory distress, meningitis, sepsis, and death. Maternal morbidities from intraamniotic infection include dysfunctional labor requiring increased intervention, cesarean birth, postpartum uterine atony with hemorrhage, endometritis, peritonitis, sepsis, adult respiratory distress syndrome and, rarely, death. Chorioamnionitis can result from an ascending infection, iatrogenic causes or transplacental passage from maternal blood-borne infections. The clinical findings of chorioamnionitis include maternal fever (≥38 °C), maternal (>100 beats per minute) and/or fetal tachycardia (>160 beats per minute), maternal leukocytosis on complete blood count (>15 000 cells/mm3), and uterine tenderness and/or purulent and/or foul-smelling amniotic fluid. The management of chorioamnionitis mainly includes antibiotic therapy and delivery. Women with previable preterm premature rupture of membranes should be offered realistic counseling from a multidisciplinary approach. The separation of the mother and the fetus to preserve the life of the mother should prioritize delivery methods that result in a living fetus if possible, with appropriate neonatal resuscitation available.

Group B streptococcus (GBS) is a leading cause of neonatal infection. Maternal vaginal-rectal colonization with GBS during the intrapartum period is a prerequisite for GBS early-onset disease (EOD). The obstetric measures for effective prevention of GBS EOD include universal prenatal screening by vaginal-rectal culture, correct specimen collection and processing, appropriate implementation of intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis, and coordination with pediatric care providers. It is now recommended to universal screen GBS between 360/7 and 376/7 weeks of gestation and to identify groups of women who are eligible for intravenous intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis as a means of preventing GBS EOD.

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