Pregnant women typically have stable babies with COVID-19, study suggests

• Babies born to moms who had COVID-19 late in their pregnancy were safe and well by 6 to 8 weeks of age, a study has found.
• There were some drawbacks to this early analysis, including a lack of participant diversity, so more research is required.
• Staying safe and taking COVID-19 precautions during pregnancy will help moms-to-be avoid getting sick.

If you test positive for COVID-19 while pregnant, what happens to your baby? The response remained unclear for much of the pandemic, leaving moms nervous about what the diagnosis meant for their pregnancy.

But expectant families will be able to breathe a sigh of relief after hearing about recent studies from the University of California San Francisco, which has found that by the time they are 6 to 8 weeks old, most babies born to COVID-19 moms are safe and well.

These early results, though research is continuing, provide a promising outlook for increasing families affected by the coronavirus.

Infant Wellbeing From Moms with COVID-19

The Clinical Infectious Diseases journal recently released the first U.S. study that looked at the health outcomes of babies born to COVID-19 moms at the age of 6 to 8 weeks.

The study followed 263 infants from across the nation whose moms are enrolled in, or are suspected of having, the Pregnancy Coronavirus Outcomes Registry (PRIORITY), an ongoing study based on pregnant women who have tested positive for or suspected of having COVID-19.

When they participated in the study, the researchers collected data from moms by phone, e-mail, and text message, as well as just after childbirth and six to eight weeks after delivery. Via SARS-CoV-2 test results and infant medical records, they also verified some of the moms' knowledge.

The results revealed that there was no difference in the incidence of preterm birth and respiratory problems between the 179 moms who tested positive for COVID-19 during their pregnancy and the 84 moms who tested negative.

Just two (1.1 percent of infants born to COVID-19 moms have tested positive for the disease. One had no concerns with hygiene. The second was born very early and had minor health issues (e.g. anemia), but the authors indicate that the problems of the baby were typical of babies born at 26 weeks. In the follow-up period, neither infant needed rehospitalization.

Those diagnosed in the last two weeks of pregnancy were more likely to have a preterm birth among moms who tested positive for COVID-19. Their infants were also more likely to be admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), however by the time they turned 6 to 8 weeks old, those babies typically did very well. The researchers confirmed that none of the study's infants had pneumonia or a lower infection of the respiratory tract.

MD, Roy Benaroch

It is super reassuring that babies born to moms with COVID-19 were similar in any significant way compared to moms who did not have COVID-19.

“It is super reassuring that babies born to moms with COVID-19 compared to moms who did not have COVID-19 were identical in every meaningful way,” says MD, Roy Benaroch, adjunct assistant professor of pediatrics at the Emory University School of Medicine and medical lecturer at The Great Courses Plus.

"The results fit with the overall observation that COVID-19 affects children relatively less," he adds.

What it means to you

Although welcoming a new addition to your family can feel like a frightening time, this study provides some reassurance that most infants are healthy a few weeks after birth, even if their mother had COVID-19 late in her pregnancy.

Knowing who is most at risk for COVID-19 at a wider level will help physicians strategize preventive strategies and guide scarce resources to patients most in need, such as testing and care. The more we know about this virus, the more we are prepared to avoid the spread of it.

Study Limitations

While this study gives babies in the pandemic a positive outlook, it has some drawbacks that may require further research. The authors note that at the time of the report, infant research for COVID-19 was incomplete, using only data available by June 22, 2020.

White and underrepresented Black and Latina moms were also skewed by the ethnic makeup of the PRIORITY respondents. Since COVID-19 has disproportionately affected people of color due to continuing structural health and social inequities, scientists may not be able to generalize the outcomes of this study to the general population, the authors say.

"A lot of Hispanics and Blacks were not included in the study, and unfortunately, those groups tend to have more negative results," explains Felice Gersh, MD, OB-GYN, founder and director of Irvine's Integrative Medical Group in Irvine, California, and author of "PCOS SOS Fertility Fast Track."

In order to enhance the diversity of their study, the PRIORITY researchers focused on hiring people from underrepresented groups and communicating with populations most affected by the coronavirus.

Finally, the majority of the births analyzed in the study came from COVID-19 infections that occurred in the third trimester, which means that if a woman gets the virus in the earlier, more fragile stages of her pregnancy, we do not yet understand what happens to the infant, said Dr. Benaroch.

If COVID were to influence, say, the development of the brain or heart in the utero, this study could not pick up such changes. Such adjustments happen earlier in pregnancy... and I would love to see data gathered from women who had COVID-19 earlier,' he said.

In deciding health outcomes for both the mom and the baby, Dr. Gersh added that the duration of infection could be the critical thing."

"If she is actively infected within two weeks of delivery, then there appears to be a higher rate of complications," says Dr. Gersh, referring to the results of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Survey, published on November 6, 2020, on the results of infants born to women with COVID-19 infections at the time of delivery.

Researchers suggest that after each trimester of pregnancy, a forthcoming research would provide a more full picture of the risks of COVID-19.

Given the drawbacks, this early research offers further clues to doctors and moms-to-be on how COVID-19 can affect newborn health.

"It's not just one analysis you should take. It's fine, but the more details we get the better," Dr. Gersh says.

During the Pandemic, Stable Pregnancies

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, pregnant women have a greater chance of becoming seriously ill from COVID-19 than non-pregnant people (CDC). Doctors therefore advise pregnant women to take care in order not to catch the coronavirus.

"It is better to be preventive than reactive," says Dr. Gersh. "What women who are pregnant need to do is take every measure they can to avoid getting the infection, including social distance, limiting contact with other individuals, and wearing masks."

You should also be careful to keep your hands clean, either by using hand sanitizer with at least 60 percent alcohol or by washing with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.

During pregnancy, keeping up with your overall health will also help you feel your best and stop getting sick, adds Dr. Gersh.

She urges moms-to-be to take prenatal vitamins, get plenty of rest, and keep healthy. Via meditation, guided visualization, listening to soft music, or whatever else works to relax you," she also advises keeping stress levels down.

"If you get infected with COVID-19, we don't have any clear-cut treatment, so the most important thing is to be proactive ahead of time to maintain an optimal state of health," she says. "The final keys to your outcome are your underlying health and immune function."