Study finds pregnancy may reduce risk of developing Long COVID

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A new study led by researchers from Weill Cornell Medicine, University of Rochester Medical Center, University of Utah Health, and Louisiana Public Health Institute suggests that pregnancy may offer some protection against developing Long COVID.^1,2

The findings, published April 1 in Nature Communications, address a critical gap in understanding how Long COVID affects women infected with SARS-CoV-2 during pregnancy.

Long COVID, a condition in which symptoms persist for months after recovering from COVID-19, has been widely studied in non-pregnant adults, according to a press release.¹ However, data on its impact during pregnancy has been limited.

“This population is so important and vulnerable, but we had no evidence about their Long COVID risk to guide their care,” said Chengxi Zang, PhD, an instructor in population health sciences at Weill Cornell Medicine and co-lead of the study. “We hope this new data will help clinicians develop better Long COVID prevention and treatment strategies for pregnant women and help those most at risk.”

Lower long COVID risk observed in pregnant women

The researchers analyzed data from 2 large electronic health record-based studies—the National Patient-Centered Clinical Research Network (PCORnet) and the National COVID Cohort Collaborative (N3C)—as part of the National Institutes of Health RECOVER initiative.

They examined records of approximately 72,000 women who were infected with SARS-CoV-2 during pregnancy between March 2020 and June 2023, comparing them with about 208,000 non-pregnant women of similar age and demographics who also had COVID-19 during this period.

The study found that pregnant women were less likely to develop Long COVID compared to non-pregnant women.

In the PCORnet dataset, about 16 out of every 100 pregnant women experienced Long COVID symptoms, compared to 19 out of 100 non-pregnant women. Similar patterns were observed in the N3C dataset, reinforcing the consistency of the findings.

Long COVID symptoms included cognitive problems, sleep disorders, shortness of breath, joint pain, fatigue, and other conditions. Despite the reduced risk, researchers emphasized that some pregnant women remained vulnerable.

Identifying higher-risk groups

The study found that certain subgroups of pregnant women had a higher likelihood of developing Long COVID.

Pregnant women who identified as Black, were age 35 or older, or had obesity or other metabolic conditions faced increased risk compared to other pregnant women. However, their risk remained lower than that of their non-pregnant counterparts.

“Further research on factors such as inequitable health care access, socioeconomic conditions, and structural racism may help us understand the elevated Long COVID risk in these groups and find ways to protect them,” said Zang.

One possible explanation for the reduced Long COVID risk in pregnancy is the immune and inflammatory changes that occur during and after pregnancy.

“We hypothesize that the altered immune and inflammatory environment lasting about 6 weeks after giving birth might contribute to lowering the risk of Long COVID,” added Zang. Future studies may examine how different trimesters of infection impact the risk of developing Long COVID.

Zang and his colleagues at Weill Cornell Medicine are also exploring how existing medications might be repurposed to reduce the risk of Long COVID in pregnant women.

References:

1. Weill Cornell Medicine. Pregnancy may reduce long COVID risk. Eurekalert. April 1, 2025. Accessed April 2, 2025. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1078926

2. Zang, C., Guth, D., Bruno, A.M. et al. Long COVID after SARS-CoV-2 during pregnancy in the United States. Nat Commun 16, 3005 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-57849-9.