To verify the possible impact of SARS-CoV-2 on the lung health of children exposed to the virus in utero, researchers from the University of Munich (Germany) followed 34 pregnant women aged 24 to 40 weeks suffering from mild symptoms of covid-19 but not hospitalized. “We used fetal MRI to assess lung volume as a measure of fetal growth from women with uncomplicated SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy,” they explain in the journal Lancet respiratory medicine. They then compared the results with the fetuses of a group of 15 pregnant women not affected by covid-19.
“In pregnant women who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, normalized fetal lung volume was significantly reduced compared to age-adjusted baseline values,” they add. On the other hand, no structural anomaly was recorded.
These effects were especially present when the infection was caught in the third trimester of pregnancy”. On the other hand, the duration of the infection, the gestational age at the time of the MRI and the sex of the future baby did not have any notable significant effects.
Good news: no signs of lung dysfunction were noticed after these babies were born.
Source : Effects of SARS-CoV-2 on prenatal lung growth assessed by fetal MRIThe Lancer respiratory medicine, March 2022
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