Objective: To study the association between common cold during pregnancy and pregnancy complications and delivery outcomes: gestational age/birth weight, in addition preterm birth and low birthweight.
Method: In the population-based large data set of the Hungarian Case-Control Surveillance System of Congenital Abnormalities (HCCSCA), 1980-1996, controls without congenital abnormalities were analysed.
Results: Of 38,151 newborn infants, 5,475 (14.4%) had mothers with common cold. The prevalence of threatened preterm delivery, placental disorders and severe nausea and vomiting was lower while the occurrence of anemia was higher in pregnant mothers with common cold than in mothers without common cold. Mothers with common cold in pregnancy had 0.1 week shorter gestational age, thus the proportion of preterm births (9.8% vs 9.1%) was somewhat larger. However, mean birth weight was somewhat larger (3,305 vs 3,271 g) and the proportion of low birthweight newborns (4.2% vs 5.9%) was smaller.
Conclusion: Common cold during pregnancy does not increase the occurrence of pregnancy complications except anemia, while delivery outcomes showed minor but opposite (higher rate of preterm birth and lower rate of low birthweight) changes.