Babies born to mothers infected with coronavirus during pregnancy have an “unusually high rate” of breathing difficulties at or shortly after birth, a Nature Communications study has found.
While studies have shown that coronavirus infection during pregnancy has deleterious outcomes for both mothers and newborns, the study authors say there is growing concern about the long-term effects on babies after birth. I discovered that there is.
Previous studies have found that there is a risk of maternal hypoxia and multiple organ failure, which can lead to premature birth, as well as stillbirth and neurodevelopmental issues, but a recent study found that mothers with new It has been found that exposure to the coronavirus can cause inflammation of a newborn's airways, leading to the birth of a newborn. Your breathing rate may slow, your skin may become pale or bluish, your nostrils may flare, and your chest may recede with each breath.
Although the study found that the virus increases the risk of respiratory illness in babies after birth, the risk of mothers transmitting coronavirus in the womb remains low.
The Los Angeles study involved more than 200 women infected with COVID-19. None of the babies tested positive for infectious diseases at birth, but about 17% were diagnosed with respiratory problems, which is higher than the average for newborns.
Speaking to NBC News, which first reported the study, study author Dr. Olivia Munn said the infants who experienced breathing difficulties were hospitalized for about 24 days.
The point at which the mother contracted the coronavirus during pregnancy had no effect on whether the infant experienced breathing difficulties.
Vaccination played a role in the study results. Unvaccinated mothers were three times more likely to have breathing problems in their babies than mothers who had received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine.
When a mother has an infection, her body produces more cytokines, which engage the body's immune response and cause inflammation. Maternal inflammation can activate inflammatory cells in the infant.
The man told NBC News that doctors believe the mother's coronavirus infection is a chain reaction from mother to infant, with the infant “reacting to the mother's own inflammation.” Long-term effects are still unknown, but Mann said they could include asthma.
Not all mothers who contract coronavirus during pregnancy will experience negative outcomes for their babies.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said that it is safe for expectant mothers to receive the coronavirus vaccine at any point during pregnancy and that it can help develop antibodies that protect the baby from contracting the virus.
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