Antibody attributes, Fc receptor expression, gestation and maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection modulate HSV IgG placental transfer.

Antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) is associated with protection against neonatal herpes. We hypothesized that placental transfer of ADCC-mediating herpes simplex virus (HSV) immunoglobulin G (IgG) is influenced by antigenic target, function, glycans, gestational age, and maternal severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. Maternal and cord blood were collected from HSV-seropositive (HSV+) mothers pre-COVID and HSV+/SARS-CoV-2+ mothers during the pandemic. Transfer of HSV neutralizing IgG was significantly lower in preterm versus term dyads (transfer ratio [TR] 0.84 vs. 2.44) whereas the TR of ADCC-mediating IgG was <1.0 in both term and preterm pre-COVID dyads. Anti-glycoprotein D IgG, which had only neutralizing activity, and anti-glycoprotein B (gB) IgG, which displayed neutralizing and ADCC activity, exhibited different relative affinities for the neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn) and expressed different glycans. The transfer of ADCC-mediating IgG increased significantly in term SARS-CoV-2+ dyads. This was associated with greater placental colocalization of FcRn with FcγRIIIa. These findings have implications for strategies to prevent neonatal herpes.

Association Between Obesity and Fetal Acidosis at Scheduled Cesarean Delivery.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether patients with obesity who undergo scheduled cesarean delivery under neuraxial anesthesia are at increased risk for umbilical artery pH less than 7.1 and base deficit 12 mmol or greater. METHODS: We conducted a multicenter, retrospective cohort study of individuals who delivered a term, singleton, nonanomalous neonate at one of four academic medical centers in New York City from 2013 to 2019 by scheduled cesarean under neuraxial anesthesia for whom fetal cord blood gas results were available. The primary study outcome was rate of fetal acidosis , defined as umbilical artery pH less than 7.1. This was compared between patients with obesity (body mass index [BMI] 30 or higher) and those without obesity (BMI lower than 30). Base deficit 12 mmol or greater and a composite of fetal acidosis and base deficit 12 mmol or greater were also compared. Secondary outcomes included neonatal intensive care unit admission rate, 5-minute Apgar score less than 7, and neonatal morbidity. Associations between maternal BMI and study outcomes were assessed using multivariable logistic or linear regression and adjusted for age, race and ethnicity, insurance type, cesarean delivery order number, and neuraxial anesthesia type. RESULTS: Of the 6,264 individuals who met inclusion criteria during the study interval, 3,098 had obesity and 3,166 did not. The overall rate of umbilical artery cord pH less than 7.1 was 2.5%, and the overall rate of umbilical artery base deficit 12 mmol or greater was 1.5%. Patients with obesity were more likely to have umbilical artery cord pH less than 7.1 (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 2.7, 95% CI 1.8-4.2) and umbilical artery base deficit 12 mmol or greater (aOR 3.2, 95% CI 1.9-5.3). This association was not significantly attenuated after additional adjustments for potential mediators, including maternal medical comorbidities. We found no differences in secondary outcomes between groups. CONCLUSION: Maternal obesity is associated with increased odds of arterial pH less than 7.1 and base deficit 12 mmol or greater at the time of scheduled cesarean delivery under neuraxial anesthesia.

COVID-related "lockdowns" and birth rates in New York.

OBJECTIVE: Recent analyses have suggested that the number of births in the United States may decrease substantially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.1 Some of this decline may be attributable to economic disruptions that are often linked to lowered birth rates.1 However to the best of our knowledge, empirical data to validate these projections and to look more specifically at the consequences of "lockdowns," have not yet been published. The objective of our study was to compare the birth rates in New York City and Long Island hospitals during the 9 months after the lockdown, to the birth rates during the same time frames in previous years. STUDY DESIGN: This was a multicenter, retrospective study of live births from hospitals in the New York City Maternal-Fetal Medicine Research Consortium, an ongoing collaboration at several hospitals in New York City and Long Island. This consortium captures approximately one-third of the births in New York City (eg, of the 117,013 births recorded in 2017, 42,680 [36.6%] were from this consortium). To evaluate whether the lockdown in New York City (the first in the United States) between March 2020 and June 2020 resulted in a change in the number of births after the lockdown, we calculated the total live births 9 months after the lockdown (between December 2020 and February 2021) and compared the number with the total in the same 3 months during the previous 4 years. Fourteen hospitals with a total of greater than 55,000 annualized live births were included. Time series regression was performed to test the birth trends and to determine whether any change was a part of an ongoing trend. RESULTS: Figure 1 shows the total live births in the different time frames. There were 12,099 live births that occurred between December 2020 and February 2021. This is 2994 (19.8%) less live births than the previous year. In addition, the average number of live births in the 4 years before the study period was 15,101 births. This decrease was seen in all the hospitals included in the cohort. The hospitals located within New York City (N=10) had a larger drop in birth rate in the last 2 years (-1947, 18.9%) than in the hospitals located in Long Island (N=4) (-581, 13.4%). Figure 2 represents the total live births by individual hospitals in the different time frames. Among the entire cohort, the largest drop in birth rate in the previous years was only 4.9%. In addition, there was no significant trend in the number of births in the previous years (P=.586). Furthermore, no significant trend was identified in the hospitals located in New York City or Long Island (P=.831 and P=.178, respectively). Hospitals with large numbers of Medicaid-funded births showed the same trend as hospitals with smaller numbers of such births. CONCLUSION: Nine months after the lockdown was implemented, we observed a nearly 20% decrease in live births than the previous year. Although these data demonstrate a decline that is even greater than previously projected by analysts,1 there are several issues that should be considered. Firstly, the relationship between lockdowns and preterm birth is unclear, because we did not evaluate the birth outcomes, and thus, we cannot comment on preterm birth. However, most data do not suggest a major effect in the direction of more preterm births.2-4 We are unable to comment on the outmigration of pregnant women to other hospitals, the 3 accredited free-standing birth centers in New York City, or other geographic areas. However, the estimates on the outmigration data were less than the decrease we found. Using anonymized smartphone location data of approximately 140,000 New York City residents, a company specializing in geospatial analysis found that approximately 5% of New York City residents left New York City between March and May, with the majority moving to surrounding locations in the Northeast and to South Florida.5 The steeper decrease in live births in hospitals located in New York City than in those located in Long Island may be related to the population density and the recommended social distancing practices. The population density is higher in New York City than in Long Island (27,000 people per square mile vs 2360 people per square mile). Thus, the lockdown may have had a reduced effect on the number of live births in areas with a lower population density. In addition, most of the New York City residents outmigrated to surrounding locations including Long Island, which may have diminished the decrease in live births. Our data clearly demonstrate that there were significant changes in the number of births in the 9 months after the nation's first lockdown. Although we cannot definitively determine the contributions of migration, family choice, or other factors to those changes, these preliminary findings should provide direction to future studies. That work should consider zip codes, parities, and other factors that might exaggerate or mitigate the trends we report here.

Checklists, Huddles, and Debriefs: Critical Tools to Improve Team Performance in Obstetrics.

Checklists, huddles, and debriefs are tools being more commonly adopted in health care with the goal to achieve a safer health system. Details regarding what, how and when to implement these tools in different circumstances related to women's health are described in this review.