COVID-19 vaccine and pregnancy outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Objectives To explore perinatal outcomes in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-vaccinated pregnant women compared with unvaccinated counterparts. Methods Search was conducted using Web of Science, Scopus, ClinicalTrial.gov, MEDLINE, Embase, OVID, and Cochrane Library as electronic databases. We included observational studies evaluating pregnant women undergoing SARS-CoV-2 vaccination and compared pregnancy and perinatal outcomes with those in unvaccinated women. Categorical variables were assessed using odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI), whereas for continuous variables, the results were expressed as mean difference with their 95% CI. All analyses were performed by adopting the random effect model of DerSimonian and Laird. Results There was no difference in the probability of having a small-for-gestational-age fetus (OR 0.97, 95% CI 0.85-1.09; P = 0.570), but we observed a reduced probability of a non-reassuring fetal monitoring, a reduced gestational age at delivery, and a reduced probability of premature delivery in vaccinated pregnant women versus unvaccinated ones. Conclusion The probability of small for gestational age is similar between vaccinated and unvaccinated pregnant women, and the former also had a slightly reduced rate of premature delivery.

Automated summary

This study aimed to compare perinatal outcomes in pregnant women vaccinated with SARS-CoV-2 and unvaccinated pregnant women. The study found that there was no difference in the probability of having a small-for-gestational-age fetus between vaccinated and unvaccinated pregnant women. However, vaccinated pregnant women had a reduced probability of non-reassuring fetal monitoring, a reduced gestational age at delivery, and a reduced probability of premature delivery.