The results show that COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy provides protection, the researchers said.
Unvaccinated pregnant women infected with COVID-19 were more likely to give birth to babies who had difficulty breathing. new research I found something published this week.
A research team led by the University of California, Los Angeles, surveyed 221 pregnant women for the study, 151 of whom had not been vaccinated before contracting the coronavirus and had laboratory-confirmed infection. Ta.
All 151 unvaccinated pregnant women were examined by the National Institutes of Health. standard Meanwhile, only 4% of the 70 pregnant women who received the vaccine met the criteria.
Researchers were able to test 199 infants, all born between April 2020 and August 2022, and none of them tested positive for the virus. The remaining 28 fetuses either resulted in miscarriage, abortion, fetal death, or were lost to follow-up.
The researchers found that exposure to COVID-19 in the womb can “activate an inflammatory cascade” in a newborn's airways, causing breathing difficulties. One major pathway appears to be related to the function of cilia, tiny hair-like structures on the surface of cells. Cilia normally help push bacteria, mucus, and other particles toward your mouth so you can cough or sneeze.
The results, published in the journal Nature Communications, found that babies born to unvaccinated and vaccinated babies were up to three times more likely to develop breathing difficulties.
“We found that full-term infants born to mothers who contracted COVID-19 during pregnancy had an unusually high rate of respiratory distress shortly after birth,” said David Geffen, UCLA's Department of Pediatric Infectious Diseases. said Dr. Karin Nielsen, professor of pediatrics. The School of Medicine says: statement. “The mothers were not vaccinated before contracting the coronavirus, and this shows that vaccination protects against this complication.”
Further research is needed to determine whether COVID-19 still affects respiratory distress when other factors that cause respiratory distress syndrome are considered.
Infant respiratory distress is defined as difficulty breathing or making more effort to breathe within the first 24 hours of life. Signs include wheezing, sweating, changes in breathing rate, and changes in color around the lips and mouth. johns hopkins medicine.
Research shows that pregnant people infected with COVID-19 are at increased risk of severe illness that can lead to hospitalization, intensive care, use of a ventilator, and even death. COVID-19 infection during pregnancy also increases the risk of premature birth and stillbirth.
“Our results show that maternal COVID-19 vaccination not only protects mothers from becoming more severely ill, but also reduces the likelihood of severe illness in their newborns. [respiratory distress]” writes the author.
This study had several limitations that affected generalizability, including a small, homogeneous sample size and a wide estimation range. Further research is needed to validate these findings.
Currently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) It is recommended All pregnant women have been vaccinated against COVID-19, and research shows there are no safety concerns for babies born to vaccinated people.
