Most infants are well even when moms are infected by COVID-19,
researchers find
Study shows reassuring initial findings for infant health

Date:
September 22, 2020
Source:
University of California - San Francisco
Summary:
Infants born to women with COVID-19 showed few adverse outcomes,
according to new research. The study suggests that babies born
to mothers infected with the virus generally do well six to eight
weeks after birth.

However, there was a higher rate of neonatal intensive care unit
(NICU) admissions reported if the mothers had COVID-19 up to two
weeks prior to delivery.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Infants born to women with COVID-19 showed few adverse outcomes,
according to the first report in the country of infant outcomes through
eight weeks of age.


==========================================================================
The study, led by researchers at UC San Francisco, suggests that babies
born to mothers infected with the virus generally do well six to eight
weeks after birth, however there was a higher rate of neonatal intensive
care unit (NICU) admissions reported if the mothers had COVID-19 up to
two weeks prior to delivery.

Among 263 infants in the study, adverse outcomes -- including preterm
birth, NICU admission, and respiratory disease -- did not differ between
those born to mothers testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 and those born
to mothers testing negative. No pneumonia or lower respiratory tract
infection were reported through eight weeks of age.

The study is published as a prepublication accepted manuscript in Clinical Infectious Diseases.

"The babies are doing well, and that's wonderful," said lead author
Valerie J.

Flaherman, MD, MPH, associate professor of pediatrics and of epidemiology
and biostatistics at UCSF. "When coronavirus first hit, there were so
many strange and unfortunate issues tied to it, but there was almost no information on how COVID-19 impacts pregnant women and their newborns. We didn't know what to expect for the babies, so this is good news."
The prospective study is part of a national project led by UCSF called
PRIORITY (Pregnancy Coronavirus Outcomes Registry), which began in March
2020, shortly after the pandemic erupted in the United States. The project
is designed for pregnant women with suspected or confirmed COVID-19,
with the goal of better understanding how pregnant and postpartum women
and their infants are affected by the virus.



==========================================================================
It's known that pregnant women have alterations in their immune system
that may increase the risk of severe illness from influenza viruses. In
past outbreaks, women who contracted flu during pregnancy have been at
higher risk for hospitalization, miscarriage or stillbirth, and their
babies have had an increased likelihood of having birth defects.

While studies have reported that maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection increases
the risk of preterm birth and can be transmitted from the mother to
the infant, overall risks for the infants were not known and almost no information is available about how COVID-19 affects infants as they grow.

The new paper reports on live births among 179 mothers with a positive
test for SARS-CoV-2 and 84 mothers who had a negative test. The births
occurred at more than 100 U.S. hospitals. On average, the mothers were
about 31 years old. Among women testing positive, 146 (81 percent)
were symptomatic; among those testing negative, 53 (63 percent) were symptomatic.

Of the 263 infants in total, 44 were admitted to a NICU but no
pneumonia or lower respiratory tract infections were reported during the
study. Among the 56 infants assessed for upper respiratory infection,
it was reported in two infants with COVID-positive mothers, and in one
with a COVID-negative mother.

Among infants born to mothers who tested positive, the estimated incidence
of a positive infant SARS-CoV-2 test was low at 1.1 percent, and COVID
did not appear to impact those infants, the authors said.



========================================================================== "Overall, the initial findings regarding infant health are reassuring,
but it's important to note that the majority of these births were from
third trimester infections," said senior author Stephanie L. Gaw, MD, PhD, assistant professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences at UCSF. "The outcomes from our complete cohort will give the full picture
of risks throughout pregnancy." Two infants born to mothers who tested positive in the third trimester were reported to have birth defects, each
with multiple congenital anomalies reported (one had cardiac, vertebral,
renal and pulmonary anomalies, while the other had facial, genital,
renal, brain and cardiac anomalies). One mother who tested negative
reported an infant with gastrointestinal, renal and cardiac anomalies.

The researchers said the findings could help inform national and
international guidelines and policies, but also noted some study
limitations. Among those, tests for infection might be biased by
false-positive or false-negative results. They also said that Latinas and Blacks were underrepresented in the study -- in May, PRIORITY launched
a new project to increase enrollment of underrepresented groups --
and noted that further research is needed on infant incidence following maternal infection.

Funding: The research was supported by the UCSF National Center of
Excellence in Women's Health; California Health Care Foundation; the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Foundation; the Bill and
Melinda Gates Foundation; and individuals who provided financial support through crowdfunding.

Co-authors: UCSF co-authors are John Boscardin, PhD; Roberta L. Keller,
MD; Anne Mardy, MD; Mary K. Prahl, MD; Carolyn Phillips, MD, Ifeyinwa
V. Asiodu, RN, PhD; Brittany D. Chambers, PhD, and Vanessa Jacoby, MD,
MAS. Other co- authors are Yalda Afshar, MD, PhD, UCLA; W. Vincenzo
Berghella, MD, Thomas Jefferson University; Joia Crear-Perry, MD,
National Birth Equity Collaborative; and Denise J. Jamieson, MD, MPH,
Emory University.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by
University_of_California_-_San_Francisco. Original written by Elizabeth Fernandez. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Valerie J Flaherman, Yalda Afshar, John Boscardin, Roberta L
Keller, Anne
Mardy, Mary K Prahl, Carolyn Phillips, Ifeyinwa V Asiodu, W Vincenzo
Berghella, Brittany D Chambers, Joia Crear-Perry, Denise J Jamieson,
Vanessa L Jacoby, Stephanie L Gaw. Infant Outcomes Following
Maternal Infection with SARS-CoV-2: First Report from the PRIORITY
Study. Clinical Infectious Diseases, 2020; DOI: 10.1093/cid/ciaa1411 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/09/200922135431.htm

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