COVID-19 penetrated a mother’s placenta and caused cerebral impairment in the infants she was carrying, according to researchers.
According to the study, the two babies were born in 2020, during the pandemic’s Delta wave, when COVID-19 immunizations were not available, too young mothers who tested positive for the virus during their second trimester.
COVID-19 Antibodies Found In Two Babies
Several viruses, including CMV, rubella, HIV, and Zika, have been shown to penetrate the placenta and cause embryonic brain damage. The SARS-CoV-2 virus has been found in adult brain tissue, and some researchers believe it may also harm prenatal brain tissue.
Seizures began on the first day of life for babies. Unlike Zika, however, the babies were not born with microcephaly, a disorder characterized by tiny head sizes. According to the researchers, microcephaly developed over time as their brains stopped expanding at a normal rate.
Both babies have significant developmental impairments. According to the team, one of the children died at the age of 13 months, while the other was in hospice care.
According to Dr. Merline Benny, a neonatologist and assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Miami, neither of the infants tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus, but they did have significant levels of COVID-19 antibodies in their blood. According to her, this indicates that the virus passed from the mother to the infant via the placenta.
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Pregnant Women Are Advised To Get Vaccinated
Although both moms tested positive for the virus, one experienced relatively moderate symptoms and carried the baby to term, while the other was so ill that physicians had to deliver the baby at 32 weeks.
Dr. Shahnaz Duara, an obstetrician and gynecologist at the University of Miami, believes the cases are rare, but she advises women who were infected during their pregnancies to notify their children’s pediatricians so that developmental delays can be monitored. The scientists also encouraged pregnant mothers to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
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