Objectives: To evaluate universal SARS-CoV-2 screening in labouring women in a tertiary hospital in the Netherlands. Women with an unknown SARS-CoV-2 were treated as COVID-19 positive in theatre. As COVID-19 precautions differed from standard care, this may have contributed to adverse perinatal outcomes. Methods: Women admitted to the labour- and pregnancy ward were consecutively asked for COVID-19 symptoms and then screened for SARS-CoV-2 by PCR. Results: From March 5 2020 to May 13, 283 women without COVID-19 symptoms were screened. One post-symptomatic woman was excluded from the analysis. 3/ 282 women (1.1%) tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. In one woman, a pending SARS-CoV-2 test, may have worsened perinatal asphyxia in her child, and in two other cases with post-partum haemorrhage the prolonged decision-to intervention interval may have contributed to more blood loss. Conclusion: Caretakers should balance the potential additional perinatal risks of alternative care processes for unscreened SARS-CoV-2 patients in obstetric emergencies.