Mother to child transmission of COVID-19 infection, possible but rare: Study

Mar 18, 2022

New Delhi, Mar 18 (ANI): SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing the COVID-19 infection, can be transmitted from mother to baby before, during and after childbirth, but such occurrences are rare, a new study reveals. An international research team, led by the University of Birmingham's WHO Collaborating Centre for Global Women's Health, published its findings in BMJ after examining data from around the globe relating to more than 14,000 babies born to mothers with COVID-19. Overall, fewer than two per cent of babies born to mothers with SARS-CoV-2 infection also test positive for the virus, but they are more likely to test positive when the women have severe COVID-19 or were diagnosed after childbirth. Experts also discovered that vaginal births and breastfeeding do not increase the likelihood of babies testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 when their mothers have the infection. Overall, 1.8 per cent of the 14,271 babies born to mothers with SARS-CoV-2 infection tested positive for the virus using PCR tests.