COVID-19 may be passed from infected pregnant women to their babies, a new research has revealed.
The Italian researchers who conducted the study assessed 31 women with COVID-19 who delivered babies in March and April, and found signs of the virus in several samples of umbilical cord blood and the placenta and one sample of breast milk as published by Associated Press.
The research was presented at a medical conference held online.
The lead researcher and an immunology specialist at the University of Milan Still, Dr. Claudio Fenizia, however said pregnant women should not be alarmed, adding that the findings didn’t mean there’s viable coronavirus in the samples and “it’s too early to make guidelines” or to make changes in the care of pregnant women.
“But more research is needed, especially in women who are infected earlier in their pregnancies,” he stated.