Variation Seen in Distribution of Characteristics of COVID-19 During Pregnancy

THURSDAY, June 29, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- From July 2020 to June 2022, there were changes in the distributions of characteristics of mothers with COVID-19 by maternal age, race and Hispanic origin, education level, and source of payment, according to a June Vital Statistics Rapid Release report, a publication from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Michelle J.K. Osterman, from the National Center for Health Statistics in Hyattsville, Maryland, and colleagues describe changes in the distribution of characteristics of mothers with and without presumed or confirmed COVID-19 during pregnancy. Data were based on reports provided to the National Center for Health Statistics by 14 states and the District of Columbia for births occurring between July 2020 and June 2022.

The researchers found that during the study period, there were changes in the distributions of mothers reported to have COVID-19 by maternal age (for example, from 61.6 to 51.1 percent for mothers <30), race and Hispanic origin (for example, from 49.5 to 17.2 percent for Hispanic mothers), education level (from 59.9 to 35.1 percent for mothers with a high school diploma or less), and source of payment (from 62.7 to 37.1 percent for mothers with Medicaid). Less pronounced shifts were seen in the distributions of mothers without COVID-19. For example, there was a 4 percent decrease and a 132 percent increase in the percentage of mothers without and with COVID-19, respectively, who were White.

Throughout the reporting period, compared to mothers without COVID-19, mothers with COVID-19 during pregnancy were younger, had lower education levels, and were more likely to be non-Hispanic Black or White, and less likely to be non-Hispanic Asian or Hispanic.

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