COVID-19 Study Suggests Pregnant Women Can Pass Coronavirus Antibodies to Their Newborn Infants

Nhx Tingson, Tech Times 01 February 2021, 06:02 am

There is new mounting evidence that women who contract and recover from the novel coronavirus disease during their pregnancy can pass the COVID-19 antibodies to their newborn infants.

Study Suggests Mothers Pass Antibodies to Babies

In a report by the New York Times, a new study suggests that a mother's protective antibodies could be passed onto unborn babies through the placenta, and if the woman contracted and recovered from the viral infection during the early stages of her pregnancy, chances are the infant would receive more of the antibodies.

The study was published on Friday, Jan. 29, in the scientific journal "JAMA Pediatrics."

"What we have found is fairly consistent with what we have learned from studies of other viruses," said Scott E. Hensley, one of the senior authors of the paper and an associate professor of microbiology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

The antibodies found on the newborn babies were immunoglobulin G or IgG, the antibodies that are developed days after getting the infection and are believed to provide long-term protection.

None of them has been found with immunoglobulin M, or IgM, which is only detected soon after infection, meaning the babies haven't been infected with the novel coronavirus disease.

Moreover, Hensley said that the result of the study might have implications for when women should be vaccinated against the contagious disease, noting that vaccinating expecting women early in their pregnancy might offer more protective benefits, but studies analyzing whether pregnant women should be vaccinated yet to be completed.

Testing 1,500 Mothers in Pennsylvania

To get the results of the study, the team of researchers from Pennsylvania tested more than 1,500 women who gave birth at the Pennsylvania Hospital from April to August of 2020.

Of the women they tested, 83 have been found to have COVID-19 antibodies.

When 83 of the women gave birth, 72 of the newborn infants have also tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies, which were found via their cord blood, regardless of whether their mothers showed symptoms of the infection or not.

Furthermore, half of the newborn babies with protective antibodies were also found to have a high or higher level of antibodies than their mothers.

A quarter of infants had antibody levels in the cord blood that was 1.5 to 2 times higher than the concentrations found in the mother's blood, according to Dr. Karen Pupolo, one of the senior authors of the study and an associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania.

The Earlier the Infection, the More Antibodies Transferred

The team of researchers also observed that the length of time between when the woman's pregnancy started and her contracting the viral infection has also affected the level of antibodies their babies received, an observation that has already been noted before.

As of now, the team doesn't know whether the level of antibodies the babies have would help prevent COVID-19.

They are also unclear whether babies who were born prematurely missed out on the protection since only a few of the infants included in the study were born early.

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Written by: Nhx Tingson