- A new study found that 87% of new mothers who had detectable COVID-19 antibodies shared them with their newborns via the umbilical cord.
- The finding suggests that it is possible that newborn babies may confer some protective COVID-19 immunity against the mother’s infection during pregnancy.
- It also raises questions about whether vaccinating pregnant women can help protect their babies from infections after birth.
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Pregnant women receiving COVID-19 may pass on some disease-fighting benefits to their babies, suggests a new study published on Friday in the journal JAMA Pediatrics.
The study measured COVID-19 antibodies in 83 new mothers at a Pennsylvania hospital last year, and found that 87% of their newborns developed measurable antibodies in their umbilical cords. The antibodies appeared both in the cords of babies whose mothers had symptoms of the coronavirus, and those who did not.
This does not necessarily mean that newborns whose mothers had COVID-19 will be immune to the new coronavirus, but it is a sign that they could have some form of protection against future infections, especially during the first months of life.
The study also found that people who had COVID-19 in early pregnancy had a better chance of transferring antibodies across the placenta to the fetus. This is in line with what we know about how long it takes a person’s body to develop antibodies after any coronavirus infection: usually at least 1-3 weeks.
The study raises questions about whether vaccination of pregnant women against COVID-19 could help protect their newborns
Nurses care for a newborn at the Diaconesses Hospital in Paris on November 17, 2020.
Martin Bureau / AFP via Getty Images
Given that it is possible for mothers who have had COVID to pass some level of viral protection to their babies, it is also possible that “maternal vaccination can do the same”, Dr. Flor Munoz, an infectious disease specialist at Baylor College of Medicine, said in an editorial that accompanied the launch of the study on Friday.
Maternal vaccination during pregnancy is already how many newborns are temporarily protected other dangerous but vaccine-preventable diseases, including flu and whooping cough.
It is not yet clear whether this would be the case for COVID-19, but it is an important issue to consider, as there are no coronavirus vaccines authorized for babies or children so far.
Munoz suggested that “maternal vaccination starting at the beginning of the second trimester” may be the best time, in order to help protect the baby and also the mother from future infections.
“The moment of maternal vaccination to protect the child, unlike the mother alone, would need an adequate interval between vaccination and delivery (at least 4 weeks)”, added Munoz.
Data on pregnant women and COVID-19 vaccines are scarce
A healthcare professional administers a dose of the Pfizer-BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine to a pregnant woman at Clalit Health Services in Tel Aviv on January 23, 2021.
Jack Guez / AFP via Getty Images
Since pregnant women have been intentionally left out of many trials of the COVID-19 vaccine, there is still insufficient data to definitively determine that coronavirus vaccines are safe for pregnant women.
“There is no data to suggest that these vaccines do harm to pregnant women – but there is simply not a lot of data,” immunologist Scott Hensley, co-author of the study, told The Philadelphia Inquirer.
The US Centers for Disease Control and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) claim that if pregnant women want a vaccine and are in a priority position to get it (ie health professionals, teachers), they you should feel free to go ahead.
Dr. Mark Turrentine, a member of ACOG’s COVID-19 expert group, told the New York Times that this new study shows how important it is to include more pregnant women in future vaccine trials, “particularly when the benefit of vaccination is greater than the potential risk of a life-threatening illness. “
Pregnant women who contract COVID-19 are at a slightly higher risk of developing serious and fatal coronavirus infections. If you are pregnant and want to know if you should get a coronavirus vaccine, talk to your doctor or vaccine administrator about this.