Last Friday in Occitania, a newborn baby died while his mother was carrying Covid-19. The infant’s post-mortem test was also positive. Such deaths are very rare.
- The number of hospitalized children has also recently exploded in Martinique and Nice.
- Since July 20, vaccination for pregnant women is recommended in France from the first trimester of pregnancy.
While the announcement of the death of a newborn whose post-mortem Covid-19 test turned out to be positive panics many pregnant women or women wishing to conceive, Why Doctor takes stock of the situation.
Infant deaths from Covid-19 are very rare
To reassure legitimately worried women, it should first be noted that infant deaths due to Covid-19 are very rare. In an American register which covered 3,476 pregnancies of mothers who contracted the coronavirus, only 206 newborns were born positive for Sras-Cov-2, i.e. less than 10% of the cohort (knowing that a positive child does not very rarely develops a severe form).
Since the start of the health crisis, 7 children under the age of 10 have potentially died of Covid-19 in France, even if the causal links between infections and deaths are not the strongest. To avoid such tragedies, several studies confirm that resorting to vaccination before conceiving or from the first trimester of pregnancy is an effective reaction.
Vaccination does not increase the risk of miscarriage
Contrary to what some figures relayed on social networks claim, “studies that have just come out reject the link between vaccination and miscarriage”, explains Olivier Picone, gynecologist-obstetrician in Hauts-de-Seine. On France Info, he calls on pregnant women to get vaccinated “at any time during pregnancy” and ensure that “the vaccine has no particular side effects during pregnancy”.
RNA vaccines pass antibodies against coronavirus into breast milk
According to a new JAMA study, “breast milk of women vaccinated with the new Pfizer-BioNTech RNA vaccine contains specific anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG(S1) antibodies”. Besides, “we found that after the second dose, breast milk IgG(S1) levels increased,” add the researchers.
Covid-19 increases the risk of preterm birth
Conversely, Covid-19 increases the risk of premature delivery by 42%, which can have a potential impact on the health of the baby. In addition, a mother who has contracted Covid-19 has a risk multiplied by 6 of ending up in intensive care, which can also affect the proper development of the unborn child.
Women not vaccinated against Covid-19 die more in childbirth
At last, according to new research based on a cohort of 869,079 people, “Contracting Covid-19 is associated with an increased risk of death for women who give birth”, which can greatly affect the future life of the infant.
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