In December 2019, a novel coronavirus called SARS-CoV-2 has resulted in the outbreak of a respiratory illness known as COVID-19. As this is has raised many questions, one of the major doubt that has been going on is, “What is the effect of the virus on a baby in the womb?”.
A study has been conducted by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) which has answered all the queries and doubts among the people about the effect of coronavirus on a mother and child/
Here are few common questions and their answers to it:
Can a baby get infected inside the womb?
Several cases have been observed, and they do have different results. In some cases the mother is infected with the virus but the baby is born healthy. Whereas there are certain cases, the mother is healthy but later the virus has occurred in the baby.
Also, there are cases, when the mother was infected with the virus and the baby develops the after few hours of the birth of child,. So the question arises, was the child infected inside the womb itself?
The ICMR answers to it, ” āCurrent evidence suggests that Kovid 19 may be transmitted from mother to child within the womb. However, this is not necessary in every case. But it can happen.”
After this the second question arises is:
How is the virus transferred from the mother to the child?
To answer this gynecologist Dr Shalini Aggarwal says, “Because it is a new disease, studies are being done on it.” There are some viruses that go from mother to child in the stomach. For example, if the mother has malaria, the child may also. There is less possibility of transmission from mother to child in HIV. “
“There are some viruses that affect a child when he is being born. After being born, the child remains close to the mother, even then one can catch the virus. This possibility can change with every mother and child. “
There could be any of the reason possible, as stated by Dr. Shalini.
Does pregnant woman has more threatened by COVID-19 ?
According the the study by ICMR, the immunity of a mother decreases due to due to pregnancy, thus increases the chance to get infected by any pre-existing virus.
Doctor Shalini Aggarwal tells about that the baby growing in the womb is a new part made of mother and father and the body can work against this child only when normal immunity is there, lest the resistance during pregnancy Capacity decreases. ”
Also after the COVID-19 the number of pre-mature delivery has increased.
However, there is no evidence that premature delivery or miscarriage is happening due to Kovid 19 or any other type of problems.
How to be safe?
The next thing is how to keep the mother and child safe from this virus.
Doctor Shalini says that if the child is to be protected from infection inside the womb, the mother must first be protected from infection. For this, it is necessary to take the same precautions as prescribed for everyone-
- Social distance, hygiene in the surroundings, no physical closeness with people.
- Keep distance from those who have any kind of infection or are likely to be COVID-19.
- During pregnancy, all these things need to be taken care of more strictly.
- If the mother has corona virus before delivery, it is not necessary that the child also gets infection. It is found out only after investigation. Therefore, the child can be protected from infection by taking some precautions.
- The child is kept away from the mother for some time. So that the child does not get any infection from the mother’s breath or droplets. C
Is mother’s milk safe to feed?
Mother’s milk is the essential for a newborn baby. For first few months the baby is dependent on the mother milk. Also, in the report of ICMR, there has been no traces of Covid-19 in the breast milk.
However, if the child is temporarily kept separate from the mother and weaned due to the risk of the virus, then some guidelines have been given in this regard.
– Talk with the mother about the danger and benefits of keeping the mother and child temporarily separated.
– The newborn should be kept in a separate room until the examination is done.
– If the mother wants to feed the baby, then with the help of a sanitized breast pump, milk should be fed to the child.
– If the mother wants to feed the baby herself, then every time before feeding, the mother should wear a mask and clean her hands.
Children’s immunity is very new. He does not recognize any kind of disease. Therefore, the child is given a vaccine so that the body of the child can be identified and protected in case of attack of its disease.
Things that has not been confirmed in this study.
According to ICMR, these things have not been confirmed in the research so far.
– There is no evidence that Kovid 19 can cause abortion or any other harm to the womb.
– There is no evidence that there can be any deformity in the child from birth due to Kovid 19.
As of now, there are no indications that Kovid 19 may require abortion.
Apart from this, ICMR has also issued guidelines related to delivery. For example, what should be the facilities in the hospital for such cases and what precautions should the medical staff take.
In view of the risk of corona virus in pregnant women and their child, ICMR has also issued an order regarding their test.
According to this, pregnant women living in areas with hotspots are about to be delivered will be tested for Kovid 19. Even if they do not show signs of corona virus.
