Vertical Transmission of SARS-CoV-2: A Systematic Review of Systematic Reviews

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has hugely impacted global public health and economy. The COVID-19 has also shown potential impacts on maternal perinatal and neonatal outcomes. This systematic review aimed to summarize the evidence from existing systematic reviews about the effects of SARS-CoV-2 infections on maternal perinatal and neonatal outcomes. We searched PubMed, MEDLINE, Embase, and Web of Science in accordance with PRISMA guidelines, from 1 December 2019 to 7 July 2021, for published review studies that included case reports, primary studies, clinical practice guidelines, overviews, case-control studies, and observational studies. Systematic reviews that reported the plausibility of mother-to-child transmission of COVID-19 (also known as vertical transmission), maternal perinatal and neonatal outcomes, and review studies that addressed the effect of SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy were also included. We identified 947 citations, of which 69 studies were included for further analysis. Most (> 70%) of the mother-to-child infection was likely due to environmental exposure, although a significant proportion (about 20%) was attributable to potential vertical transmission of SARS-CoV-2. Further results of the review indicated that the mode of delivery of pregnant women infected with SARS-CoV-2 could not increase or decrease the risk of infection for the newborns (outcomes), thereby emphasizing the significance of breastfeeding. The issue of maternal perinatal and neonatal outcomes with SARS-CoV-2 infection continues to worsen during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, increasing maternal and neonatal mortality, stillbirth, ruptured ectopic pregnancies, and maternal depression. Based on this study, we observed increasing rates of cesarean delivery from mothers with SARS-CoV-2 infection. We also found that SARS-CoV-2 could be potentially transmitted vertically during the gestation period. However, more data are needed to further investigate and follow-up, especially with reports of newborns infected with SARS-CoV-2, in order to examine a possible long-term adverse effect.

The Risk of Spontaneous Abortion Does Not Increase Following First Trimester mRNA COVID-19 Vaccination

“…This risk further increases when associated with COVID-19 [ 10 , 11 , 12 ]. Several research studies have already confirmed the increased negative outcomes of pregnancies associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection [ 13 , 14 , 15 ], although it seems that vertical transmission is not necessarily a contributing factor to these outcomes [ 16 , 17 ].…”

The Heterogeneous Severity of COVID-19 in African Countries: A Modeling Approach

“…We also observed that most of the top 12 African countries with the most COVID-19 deaths reported their first COVID-19 case(s) between February and March 2020 (see Supplementary Table S1), which indicates that most of the stringency index policies are similar in most countries in Africa. Future work plans to extend the current study by incorporating possible reinfection or vertical transmission in the model to explore its impact on the overall transmission dynamics in African countries (Tang et al 2021 ; Musa et al 2021c ).…”

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 and Blood Safety: An Updated Review

“…Intrauterine transmission of SARS-CoV-2 may be possible, but appears to be rare with only a small number of reported probable cases [ 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 ]. SARS-CoV-2 does not appear to be transmissible intrapartum [ 21 , 23 , 25 , 26 ], by human breast milk [ 21 , 23 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 ] or sexually [ 32 , 33 ]. Transmission by the ocular conjunctival route [ 34 , 35 ], fecal-oral, or fecal aerosol [ 36 , 37 , 38 ] has not been confirmed.…”