The physicians from UT Southwestern have reported that a pre-mature baby is diagnosed with COVID-19 and apparently, he has got this virus from his mother who was already COVID-19 positive. Both mother and baby are treated for the infection and are now recovered. The complete details of this case are published in the journal named “The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal”.
The researchers report that there is strong evidence of this virus being transmitted from the mother. Although the previous studies have reported that this is not a possibility but with this new report highlights a potential risk for all women who are expecting.
Amanda Evans from UT Southwestern is the author of this study. According to her, this risk is highest among pregnant women in Texas. It is necessary to educate all women about the potential transmission of the COVID-19 from mother to an unborn child which suggests these mothers have to be extra careful.
Also read- Can a Cure for the Coronavirus Come from A Deadly Plant?
She also says that there is not enough information to predict if there are any long-term side effects of this infection in newborn babies or not. To this day, more than 20 million people have been diagnosed with this virus. But its dangers for pregnant mothers are uncertain.
A previous study from China said that the risk of SARS-CoV-2 spread is lowest from mother to her unborn child. As they were unable to trace any presence of the virus in the amniotic fluid or umbilical cord blood. It was also not reported in the breast milk. However, in other studies, there was a suspicion that such a transmission is possible.
In this new case, the mother was 34 weeks pregnant and was taken to the Parkland Memorial Hospital on an account of premature labor. Later on, she was diagnosed positive for coronavirus but she experienced no conventional symptoms that are associated with the virus.
Wilmer Moreno from the UTSW says that at this time, the hospital is only conducting tests for people with apparent COVID-19 symptoms that include both respiratory and gastrointestinal signs.
After this baby was diagnosed with COVID-19, this woman was asked to remember where did she possibly contract the virus but she didn’t know it. She was hospitalized because of the COVID-19 infection and after three days, she delivered a baby girl. This baby was 7 pounds and a few ounces in weight and was apparently healthy.
The baby girl didn’t show any sign of COVID-19 but as she was born premature and that too from a positive mother, she was kept in a special area in the hospital to see if any other symptoms persist.
Also read- Coronavirus Maybe Among Top Causes of Death in the US Soon
After 24 hours the baby girl started to show mild respiratory signs when her breathing became abnormally high. Then she was identified with low oxygen count in the blood. After further testing, the doctors came to know that the baby was coronavirus positive.
The viral particles were suspected in the samples taken from the placenta. The current testing facility needs body fluid to identify the virus and not the solid tissues.
No severe symptoms were reported in the mother or baby, and now both of them are fully recovered.
