Pregnant Women Can Pass on COVID-19 to their Baby
According to a study conducted in China, pregnant woman can pass on COVID-19 on to their baby. It may happen during the birth process, instead of in utero.
According to a study that was conducted in China, pregnant woman can pass on COVID-19 on to their baby. The study was conducted with 33 pregnant women, and 3 out of them actually had babies with COVID-19. All of the three babies survived, noted the doctors in the journal JAMA Pediatrics.
Out of the babies who tested positive, two were from Wuhan, and one was from Shanghai. It was further revealed that one baby was born premature through C-Section and there may be a chance that the infant’s health was more impacted with that than COVID-19. Born at 31 weeks and 2 days after showing signs of fetal distress, the baby was diagnosed with respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) and pneumonia and had to be revived. The infant tested positive for COVID-19 on Days 2 and 4 of life, but test results were negative by Day 7.
However, the other two babies were born at full term – one after 40 weeks, and the other after 40 weeks and 4 days. Even then, the infants showed signs of pneumonia and were lethargic and feverish. Moreover, one of them experienced vomiting. Both tested positive for COVID-19 on their second and fourth day of life. By Day 6, those tests came back negative.
Doctors Surprised COVID-19 Babies Healed So Soon
All around the world, children have been less likely to contract COVID-19, in comparison to older adults. One of the hypotheses is that children get infected with other kinds of coronaviruses – many of which cause only mild, cold-like symptoms – that offers as some kind of an immunity booster against COVID-19. However, this does not apply to infants.
Another hypothesis is that a baby’s immune system is too underdeveloped to mount the kind of extreme response that could lead to further complications and even death.
However, it isn’t clear since the sample size of the experiment was only 3 babies.
How do the Babies Contract COVID-19?
The study in JAMA Pediatrics implied that the transmission may be happening around or during the birth process, instead of transferring to the fetus in utero.
One of the maternal-fetal specialist from UCLA, Dr Neil Silverman, stated that pregnant women should not opt for C-Section to give birth just because of the outbreak. Whether it is vaginal birth or caeserean section, the infant will still be in contact with the bodily fluids.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists also says that, in most cases, pregnant women with COVID-19 do not need to change the timing or delivery method of their birth plans.
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