Pregnant women with Covid-19 give protective antibodies to babies

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According to the study, pregnant women with Covid-19 can administer protective coronavirus antibodies to their child

  • Researchers based in the United States studied more than 1,700 mother and baby blood samples
  • Eighty-three of these mothers had antibodies against the coronavirus in the system
  • 72 (8%) of babies born to infected mothers also had Covid antibodies

By Joe Pinkstone for Mailonline and Xantha Leatham for the Daily Mail

Posted: | Updated:

A new study suggests that pregnant women who have been infected with the coronavirus may give protective antibodies to their unborn baby.

Philadelphia-based researchers found that Covid antibodies can pass into the baby’s placenta if the mother catches the virus while she is pregnant.

The findings are a good sign for potential parents concerned, but researchers say they are unable to say with certainty that the baby of an infected mother is “absolutely safe” from Covid-19 because science is still evolving.

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A new study suggests that pregnant women who have been infected with coronavirus may provide protective antibodies to the unborn baby

A new study suggests that pregnant women who have been infected with coronavirus may provide protective antibodies to the unborn baby

Pregnant women with severe Covid-19 are more likely to have serious complications in childbirth

An American study reveals that pregnant women with a severe case of Covid-19 have an increased risk of dangerous complications in childbirth.

This includes the need for a cesarean section, intense postpartum bleeding, high blood pressure, and a premature birth.

Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also found that pregnant women with severe Covid-19 are more likely to die compared to expectant mothers with only a mild case of coronavirus infection.

For women who give birth while battling a moderate case of coronavirus, there is no increased risk of death or complications in childbirth.

CDC research found a correlation between mortality and pregnancy only in the worst cases.

The study looked for antibodies in the mother’s blood samples, as well as in blood from the umbilical cord, from the placenta and the attached umbilical cord, immediately after delivery.

Umbilical cord blood is an accurate reflection of the blood of the newborn at the time of birth.

Eighty-three of the 1,471 women in the study, which was conducted between April 9 and August 8 last year, tested positive for Covid-19 and antibodies were found in umbilical cord blood from 72 (87%) of their babies.

Eleven babies born to Covid-positive mothers who had no antibodies tested negative for the virus.

“In this cohort study, maternal antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 were transferred across the placenta after an asymptomatic and symptomatic infection during pregnancy,” the researchers write in their study, published in JAMA Pediatrics .

The researchers also found that the baby inherited more antibodies if the mother had a high number of antibodies, while a mother with only a small number of immune cells transmitted less to her child.

The corresponding author, Dra. Karen Puopolo said: “This finding must be placed in the context of the fact that SARS-CoV-2 is a new virus.

Therefore, the time between exposure to the maternal virus and the birth of the baby was never more than three or four months in our study, and in most cases the time was less than this.

“But there must also be enough time between maternal infection and childbirth for the mother to be able to produce the kind of antibodies that cross the placenta and make that crossover.

“We found that if the time between maternal virus exposure and delivery was at least two to three weeks, we could detect antibodies in the newborn.”

Philadelphia-based researchers found that Covid antibodies can pass into the baby's placenta if the mother catches the virus while she is pregnant (stock)

Philadelphia-based researchers found that Covid antibodies can pass into the baby’s placenta if the mother catches the virus while she is pregnant (stock)

The researchers said their findings support the potential of maternal-derived antibodies to provide protection to their newborns against coronavirus infections.

Dr. Puopolo said, “Our results mean that maternal antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 can cross the placenta efficiently and therefore our results demonstrate the potential of these maternal-derived antibodies to provide neonatal protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Nothing in our work should change the way we care for pregnant women and their newborns. Our work cannot tell a woman that her newborn is absolutely safe from COVID-19.

“Work remains to determine what levels and types of antibodies protect newborns from SARS-CoV-2 infection and how long these antibodies can last in the newborn’s circulation.”

Pregnant women who contract Covid-19 in the third trimester are unlikely to pass it on to their babies

Pregnant women who catch the coronavirus do not transmit it to their unborn children, according to a study.

Researchers based in the United States followed 64 women who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, between April 2 and June 13.

None of the babies tested positive for Covid-19 after birth and no coronavirus was detected in the placenta.

While Harvard academics warn that the small sample size makes it impossible to rule out that some pregnant women may transmit the virus to their children, they show that the natural defenses of pregnancy defend the virus, they say.

All expectant mothers were in the third trimester and had the virus in their lungs, nose and throat, but not in the bloodstream or placenta.

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