Maternity ward management and COVID-19 pandemic: Experience of a single center in Northern Italy during lockdown

Nicola Cesano; Francesco D'Ambrosi; Giulia E Cetera; Ilma F Carbone; Matteo Di Maso; Manuela W Ossola; Enrico Iurlaro; Enrico Ferrazzi

doi:10.18332/ejm/137605

Maternity ward management and COVID-19 pandemic: Experience of a single center in Northern Italy during lockdown

Eur J Midwifery. 2021 Jul 19:5:29. doi: 10.18332/ejm/137605. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Nicola Cesano^{1

2}, Francesco D'Ambrosi^{1

2}, Giulia E Cetera¹, Ilma F Carbone¹, Matteo Di Maso³, Manuela W Ossola¹, Enrico Iurlaro¹, Enrico Ferrazzi^{1

4}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Woman, Child and Neonate, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy.
² Co-first authors.
³ Branch of Medical Statistics, Biometry and Epidemiology 'G.A. Maccacaro', Department of Clinical Sciences and Community Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Milan, Milan, Italy.
⁴ Department of Clinical Sciences and Community Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Milan, Milan, Italy.

Abstract

Introduction: The aim of our study is to describe the management of a maternity ward in a referral center during the COVID-19 pandemic and 2020 lockdown.

Methods: This is a retrospective single-center study. We analyzed the records of all women consecutively admitted to our delivery ward during lockdown and compared them with those of women admitted in the same period in 2019.

Results: The number of patients (1260) admitted to our department in 2020 was similar (1215) to that in 2019. Among patients admitted during lockdown, 50 presented with a Sars-CoV-2 infection (3.9%). In 2020, the number of antenatal check-ups was lower than in 2019 [7.9 (1.5) vs 8.2 (1.3), p<0.001] and the rate of labor inductions was higher [436 (34.6) vs 378 (31.1), p=0.008] although no difference in delivery mode was found. Moreover, women admitted during lockdown were more likely to give birth alone [140 (11.1) vs 50 (4.1), p<0.001]. However, during 2020, the rate of mother and newborn skinto-skin contact [1036 (82.2) vs 897 (73.8), p<0.001] and that of breastfeeding within 2 hours from birth [1003 (79.6) vs 830 (68.3), p<0.001] was higher. We found no significant differences in maternal or neonatal outcomes.

Conclusions: Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, we were able to guarantee a safe birth assistance to all pregnant women, both for those infected and those not infected by Sars-CoV-2.

Keywords: COVID-19; Sars-CoV-2 pandemic; delivery; maternal complication; neonatal complication; northern Italy.