GALVESTON, Texas – A team of researchers from The University of Texas
Medical Branch at Galveston, led by Dr. George Saade, are active partners in the National Institutes of
Health’s newly launched study to learn more about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on pregnancy and
post-partum care.
The study is conducted within UTMB and the other 11 health care sites across the U.S. that encompass the Maternal
Fetal Medicine Units Network. The network accounts for more than 160,000 deliveries each year, and the large and
diverse sample allows researchers to generalize their study findings to the U.S. population.
“We will be collecting data on the outcomes of pregnancies during the COVID-19 pandemic, including pregnant
women infected with COVID-19, and comparing the outcomes to those in women who delivered in the network before the
pandemic,” said Saade, the UTMB Chief of Obstetrics and Maternal Fetal Medicine. “We will be able to
study what happens to pregnant women who are infected with COVID-19, but we will also be able to determine if the
pandemic has affected pregnancy outcomes in women who did not become infected because they may not be receiving the
same care as before the pandemic.”
According to the NIH, researchers will analyze the medical records of up to 21,000 women to evaluate whether changes
to health care delivery that were implemented as a result of the pandemic have led to higher rates of
pregnancy-related complications and cesarean delivery. They also seek to determine the risk of pregnant women with
COVID-19 infection transmitting the virus to their fetus. Newborns will be monitored and assessed until they are
discharged from a hospital. The study will also track more than 1,500 pregnant women confirmed with COVID-19
infection, monitoring their health for six weeks after childbirth.