Rash and pyrexia
Rubella and parvovirus
Symptoms and severity
Effect on birth and the fetus
Antenatal, intrapartum, postpartum and neonatal care
Infection wave planning
Vaccination in pregnancy
Parasitical infections
Mycoplasma and ureaplasma
Final assessments
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/Unsplash
Novel coronavirus (SARS-COV-2) is a strain of coronavirus causing COVID-19, first identified in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China towards the end of 2019. Other coronavirus infections include the common cold (HCoV 229E, NL63, OC43 and HKU1), Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV).
There have been over 110 million confirmed cases of COVID-19, and the over 2.4 million deaths globally (ECDC, 2021).
The Americas have the most cases and deaths internationally.
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ECDC global deaths chart up to 29 September 2020
England had the highest excess all-cause mortality rate among 23 European countries in the first 5 months of 2020 compared with 2015–19, followed by Spain and Scotland. England also had the second highest peak of excess all-cause mortality after Spain, and the longest period of excess deaths (Raleigh S, 2020).
It is now clear that COVID-19 will be with us for some time to come, and that services should continue to build on the resilience and teamworking that has been demonstrated throughout the first wave, to continue to provide safe and personalised care to women and families (RCOG et al, September 2021).
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