COVID-19 and its relation to pregnancy and neonates: a systematic review

Abstract

Objectives: this study systematically reviewed the literature in order to better understand the association among COVID-19, pregnancy and neonates. Methods: MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science, BVS and SCOPUS were assessed, considering the terms: (covid 19 OR covid-19 OR novel coronavirus OR 2019 novel coronavirus OR 2019-nCoV OR sarscov 2 OR sars-cov-2 OR sarscov2 OR sars cov-2) AND (pregnancy OR pregnant OR pregnant women OR gestation OR gestational) AND (infant OR fetal OR neonatal). Thirty full-text were included (408 pregnant women, 11 non-pregnant women and 279 neonates). Results: fever (45.83%) and cough (31.61%) were the main symptoms of COVID-19 during the pregnancy. Low levels of lymphocytes (32.10%), elevated levels of C-reactive protein (32.35%); leukocytosis (29.41%); neutrophil (5.88%); and radiographic alterations on chest CT, x-ray or ultrasound (45.84%) were the main laboratorial findings. Cesarean delivery and preterm were registered in 239 and 49 cases, respectively. Ten neonates tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. Conclusion: when COVID-19 pneumonia affects women during pregnancy, the symptoms are similar to those experienced by non-pregnant women. In addition, there is still no plausible evidence suggesting vertical transmission of SARS-CoV-2 virus from mother to child.

Vaccine Protection Through Placenta and Breastfeeding: The Unmet Topic in COVID-19 Pandemic

“…The transmission of humoral immunity from mother to fetus or newborn throughout the placenta or human milk is well established. As explored below and summarized in Table 1, studies that investigated if it also occurs for anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies found that pregnant women who had COVID-19 active infection or received the COVID-19 vaccine developed anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgM, IgG, and IgA, and these antibodies were transferred to the fetus via placental transport or breastfeeding (48,51,53,(70)(71)(72)(73).…”