COVID-19 impact on pregnant women, their babies: Study

WashingtonPregnant women should get vaccinated to reduce the impact of COVID-19 on placenta and baby, according to new study findings. Women who are not vaccinated may have a higher chance of negative effects on the fetus.

This study is published in ‘The Journal of Infectious Diseases’. The editorial provided a comprehensive review of the harmful effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnant women, the effects on their newborns, negative effects on the placenta, and the still unknown amidst a rapidly developing field. Attention is also paid to the safety and efficacy of vaccination of pregnant women.

While pregnant women are at higher risk of severe disease, the virus can also trigger inflammatory and vascular reactions in the placenta during the critical period of fetal development in symptomatic and asymptomatic cases.

In this article, Dr. Roberta L. DeBiasi, MD, MS, division chief of pediatric infectious diseases at the National Hospital for Children, commented on two related studies published in the same issue demonstrating pathological findings in placentas of women with COVID-19 during pregnancy. Huh.

“The authors present a highly plausible mechanism of stillbirth, namely that the virus-induced proinflammatory state eventually led to placental abruption,” DeBiasi said.

“Taken together the studies, it is clear that if a pregnant woman gets COVID-19, they are at increased risk of serious infection,” DeBiasi said.

“Because of the effect on the placenta, they are also at risk for adverse pregnancy outcomes, which may vary with specific circulating forms,” ​​DeBiasi said.

Previous studies have documented that the placenta can be harmfully affected by the mother’s SARS-CoV-2 infection. However, maternal concomitant diseases such as hypertension, pre-eclampsia and gestational diabetes may also contribute to these findings.

“Despite these previous studies, the precise mechanisms of placental injury are still unclear and require further evaluation,” Dr. DeBiasi said.

“Future research should include appropriate controls to better understand the non-specific versus SARS-CoV-2 specific effects and mechanisms of injury,” DeBiasi said.

Although these potential risks exist, vaccination rates in pregnant women are low. Dr DeBiasi wrote that recent publications have demonstrated the vaccine’s efficacy and safety during pregnancy through programs tracking use in pregnant women.

This data supported that the COVID-19 vaccine offered another layer of protection to pregnant women because infants are not yet eligible for vaccination, despite the fact that the youngest infants and children are more likely to be hospitalized. Children are most at risk for