About COMBO

Dr. Dumitriu is a newborn hospitalist and neuroscientist studying the developmental origins of resilience. Dr. Monk is a clinical psychologist embedded in the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department. Both had active clinical duties during the height of the first wave of the pandemic in New York City. COMBO was born out of their experiences as frontline providers and passion for helping the vulnerable mother-infant dyad. Dr. Monk oversees prenatal enrollment and maternal health outcomes, while Dr. Dumitriu oversees postnatal enrollment and infant health outcomes. Marissa Lanoff and Vitoria Chaves are the research coordinators, and they oversee all COMBO operations.

Study Population

The first pregnant woman to test positive for SARS-CoV-2 in New York City gave birth on March 13, 2020, at the Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital. The NewYork-Presbyterian(link is external and opens in a new window) health care system began universal PCR testing for SARS-CoV-2 for all pregnant women admitted to Labor & Delivery on March 22, 2020. On July 20th, universal SARS-CoV-2 antibody testing was added. Testing was key for the protection of both our patients and health care workers, but also provided us the opportunity to identify asymptomatic pregnant women and those with infections early in pregnancy. All women who have given birth at NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital(link is external and opens in a new window) or NewYork-Presbyterian Allen Hospital(link is external and opens in a new window) since March 13, 2020, and have a documented history of SARS-CoV-2 infection at any time during their pregnancy are contacted between 2 weeks and 6 months postpartum and invited to participate in our study. For each woman with a history of COVID-19 enrolled in the study, a mother without a history of SARS-CoV-2 infection will be invited to be in our study as the control group. The control mother will have a baby with the same sex, gestational age, mode of delivery, and approximate date of birth as the mother enrolled in the COVID-19 group. Two other groups of mothers are also being studied to help increase our understanding of the effects of COVID-19 infection. A group of women who gave birth in February 2020, before COVID-19 was known to be in New York City, have been enrolled in order for us to better understand the effects of the stress of the pandemic during child birth. Additionally, to better understand the impact of this pandemic on women's experiences during pregnancy, some expectant moms are invited into the study prior to delivery, and then followed up postnatally.