A Narrative Review of the Risks of Covid-19 Vertical Transmission during Pregnancy
Keywords:
pregnancy, new-born, COVID-19, health professionals, interventionsAbstract
Background: With the start of COVID-19, a general concern for the health and safety of people remained the chief priority for medical health professionals. Likewise, one concern which was initially overlooked was for the pregnant women and the new-born child’s health during the pandemic. With recent reports of an excessive increase in pregnancy during lockdown, it is a critical area to consider that whether there is a chance of vertical transmission of the infectious disease from the mother to the fetus.
Methods: Using narrative review approach the present study endeavored in highlighting the importance of protecting expecting mothers and their infants upon birth from COVID-19. The study collected all the relevant literature on the matter of pregnancy during COVID-19 and its impact using key terms such as pregnancy, COVID-19, vertical transmission Moreover, the study tried suggesting recommendations based on literature review.
Results: It can be inferred that though currently not enough evidence has been brought into light to suggest pregnant mothers or the infant children as vulnerable, however proper precautionary measures must be taken during these testing times to subdue the imminent threat coronavirus can brought on to the mother or child.
Conclusions: The current study is an attempt to call out to the official authorities and health professionals to develop policies and interventions to support the mother and child during the birthing process and take in consideration the suggested recommendations.
Downloads
References
Breslin, N., Baptiste, C., Miller, R., Fuchs, K., Goffman, D., Gyamfi-Bannerman, C., & D’Alton, M. (2020). Coronavirus disease 2019 in pregnancy: early lessons. American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology MFM, 2(2), 100–111. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajogmf.2020.100111
Chen, Y., Peng, H., Wang, L., Zhao, Y., Zeng, L., Gao, H., & Liu, Y. (2020). Infants Born to Mothers With a New Coronavirus (COVID-19). Frontiers in Pediatrics, 8, 104. https://doi.org/10.3389/fped.2020.00104
Dashraath, P., Wong, J. L. J., Lim, M. X. K., Lim, L. M., Li, S., Biswas, A., Choolani, M., Mattar, C., & Su, L. L. (2020). Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and pregnancy. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajog.2020.03.021
Department of Economics and Social Affairs. (2020). World Population Prospects - Population Division - United Nations. United Nations. https://population.un.org/wpp/Download/Probabilistic/Fertility/
Fakari, F. R., & Simbar, M. (2020). Coronavirus Pandemic and Worries during Pregnancy; a Letter to Editor. Archives of Academic Emergency Medicine, 8(1), e21. https://doi.org/10.22037/aaem.v8i1.598
Favre, G., Pomar, L., Musso, D., & Baud, D. (2020). 2019-nCoV epidemic: what about pregnancies? The Lancet, 395(10224), e40. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30311-1
Lei, D. W. C., Li, C., Fang, C., Yang, W., Cheng, B., Wei, M., Xu, X., Yang, H., Wang, S., & Fan, C. (2020). Clinical characteristics of pregnancy with the 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) infection. Chinese Journal Perinatal Medicine, 23(3), 157–163.
Liang, H., & Acharya, G. (2020). Novel corona virus disease (COVID-19) in pregnancy: What clinical recommendations to follow? Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica, 99(4), 439–442. https://doi.org/10.1111/aogs.13836
Poon, L. C., Yang, H., Kapur, A., Melamed, N., Dao, B., Divakar, H., McIntyre, H. D., Kihara, A. B., Ayres-de-Campos, D., Ferrazzi, E. M., Di Renzo, G. C., & Hod, M. (2020). Global interim guidance on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) during pregnancy and puerperium from FIGO and allied partners: Information for healthcare professionals. International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics, 149(3), 273–286. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijgo.13156
Rasmussen, S. A., & Jamieson, D. J. (2020). Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and pregnancy: Responding to a rapidly evolving situation. Obstetrics and Gynecology, 135(5), 999–1002. https://doi.org/10.1097/AOG.0000000000003873
Rasmussen, S. A., Smulian, J. C., Lednicky, J. A., Wen, T. S., & Jamieson, D. J. (2020). Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) and pregnancy: what obstetricians need to know. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 222(5), 415–426. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajog.2020.02.017
RCOG. (2020). Information for healthcare professionals Coronavirus (COVID-19) Infection in Pregnancy 2. https://www.rcog.org.uk/globalassets/documents/guidelines/2020-06-04-coronavirus-covid-19-infection-in-pregnancy.pdf
Saccone, G., Carbone, F. I., & Zullo, F. (2020). The novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in pregnancy: What we need to know. European Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Reproductive Biology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejogrb.2020.04.006
Sahu, K. K., Mishra, A. K., & Lal, A. (2020). A twin challenge to handle: COVID-19 with pregnancy. Journal of Medical Virology. https://doi.org/10.1002/jmv.25784
Shuja, H. K., Aqeel, M., Jaffar, A., & Ahmed, A. (2020). COVID-19 PANDEMIC AND IMPENDING GLOBAL MENTAL HEALTH IMPLICATIONS. Psychiatria Danubina, 32(1), 32–35. https://doi.org/10.24869/psyd.2020.32
Tanne, J. H., Hayasaki, E., Zastrow, M., Pulla, P., Smith, P., & Rada, A. G. (2020). Covid-19: How doctors and healthcare systems are tackling coronavirus worldwide. The BMJ, 368. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.m1090
Tseng, J.-Y. (2020). Potential implications of SARS-CoV-2 on pregnancy. Taiwanese Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 59(3), 464–465. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tjog.2020.03.025
UNICEF. (2020). Pregnant mothers and babies born during COVID-19 pandemic threatened by strained health systems and disruptions in services. https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/pregnant-mothers-and-babies-born-during-covid-19-pandemic-threatened-strained-health
Wang, S., Zhou, X., Lin, X., Liu, Y., Wu, J., Sharifu, L. M., Hu, X., Rong, Z., Liu, W., Luo, X., Chen, Z., Zeng, W., Chen, S., Ma, D., Chen, L., & Feng, L. (2020). Experience of Clinical Management for Pregnant Women and Newborns with Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia in Tongji Hospital, China. Current Medical Science, 40(2), 285–289. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11596-020-2174-4
Yang, H., Wang, C., & Poon, L. C. (2020). Novel coronavirus infection and pregnancy. Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology, 55(4), 435–437. https://doi.org/10.1002/uog.22006
Zimmermann, P., & Curtis, N. (2020). Coronavirus infections in children including COVID-19: An overview of the epidemiology, clinical features, diagnosis, treatment and prevention options in children. Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal, 39(5), 355–368. https://doi.org/10.1097/INF.0000000000002660
