Favorable outcomes among neonates not separated from their symptomatic SARS-CoV-2-infected mothers
AUTHOR(S)
Antoine Martenot; Imad Labbassi; Amélie Delfils-Stern (et al.)
Published: November 2020
Journal: Pediatric Research
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), resulting from infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), can affect pregnant women. Their newborns are at a higher risk of prematurity and early separation from their mothers, who may subsequently require intensive care for their own health. Although neonates born of mothers infected with SARS-CoV-2 during pregnancy are seemingly vulnerable to infection, studies have found that they were not at a high risk for severe infection and were very rarely affected by COVID-19.
The presence of virus by real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) has been reported in newborns before H 12 of life. In addition, antiviral immunoglobulin M has been detected in newborns at birth, suggesting that mother-to-infant viral transmission may occur. To date, however, only one case of vertical transmission has been clearly demonstrated. In several cases of early neonatal infection, postnatal contamination cannot be excluded. Moreover, only one case report found that the virus could pass from mother to infant through the mother’s breast milk.
Antoine Martenot; Imad Labbassi; Amélie Delfils-Stern (et al.) November 2020 Favorable outcomes among neonates not separated from their symptomatic SARS-CoV-2-infected mothers . Pediatric Research, pp. 4.
