Novel coronavirus cannot pass from mother to child late in pregnancy: Lancet Study
Beijing: The 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) may not pass to the child in the womb during late pregnancy, or cause severe health outcomes in a newborn, according to a study published in The Lancet journal.
The small observational study analysed women from Wuhan, China, who were in the third trimester of pregnancy, and had pneumonia caused by COVID-19.
There were two cases of foetal distress in the study, but all nine pregnancies resulted in livebirths, the researchers said.
They also found that symptoms from COVID-19 infection in pregnant women were similar to those reported in non-pregnant adults, and no women in the study developed severe pneumonia or died.
The team cautioned that the findings are based on a limited number of cases, over a short period of time, and only included women who were late in their pregnancy, and gave birth by caesarean section.
The effects of mothers being infected with the virus during the first or second trimester of pregnancy, and the subsequent outcomes for their offspring remain unclear, as well as whether the virus can be passed from mother to child during vaginal birth, they said.
The latest study comes after the news of a newborn born to a mother infected with COVID-19 testing positive for COVID-19 infection within 36 hours of birth, which prompted questions about whether the virus could be contracted in the womb.
"It is important to note that many important clinical details of this case are missing, and for this reason, we cannot conclude from this one case whether intrauterine infection is possible," said lead author of the study, Professor Yuanzhen Zhang, from Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, China.
"Nonetheless, we should continue to pay special attentions to newborns born to mothers with COVID-19 pneumonia to help prevent infections in this group," Zhang said.
Existing studies into the effects of COVID-19 apply to the general population, and there is limited information about the virus in pregnant women, noted Professor Huixia Yang, from Peking University First Hospital in China.
This is important to study because pregnant women can be particularly susceptible to respiratory pathogens and severe pneumonia, because they are immunocompromised and because of pregnancy-related physiological changes which could leave them at higher risk of poor outcomes, Yang said.
"Although in our study no patients developed severe pneumonia or died of their infection, we need to continue to study the virus to understand the effects in a larger group of pregnant women," said Yang.
The medical records of nine pregnant women who had pneumonia caused by COVID-19 infection were reviewed.
Samples of amniotic fluid, cord blood, throat swabs of newborns, and breast milk were taken for six of the nine cases, and tested for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).All mothers in the study were aged between 26-40 years.
None of them had underlying health conditions, but one developed gestational hypertension from week 27 of her pregnancy, and another developed pre-eclampsia at week 31, the researchers said.
All nine pregnancies resulted in livebirths, and there were no cases of neonatal asphyxia, they said.
Four women had pregnancy complications -- two had foetal distress and two had premature rupture of membrane -- and four women had preterm labour which was not related to their infection, and occurred after 36 gestational weeks.Two of the prematurely born newborns had a low birthweight, the study found.
The researchers noted that their findings are similar to observations of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) virus in pregnant women, where there was no evidence of the virus being passed from mother to child during pregnancy or birth.
They also noted that future follow-up of the women and children in the study will be necessary to determine their long-term safety and health.
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Unruly scenes witnessed in Punjab Assembly
Chandigarh (PTI): The Punjab Assembly on Friday witnessed high drama on Friday after Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira made an allegedly objectionable remark against Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann during an intense argument over the alleged use of mobile phone in the house by the legislator.
During the one-day special session of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha here, Mann accused Khaira of using a mobile phone when Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan was reading out an official resolution on the revision of wages.
After rising from his seat, the chief minister pointed to the speaker, claiming that Khaira is busy on his mobile phone and urged him to ask the Congress MLA what Sandhwan had said about the resolution.
The speaker then asked Khaira to maintain order in the house and listen to the resolution carefully.
Mann then asked Khaira, "Why don't you go out and then use it (mobile phone)," which led to a strong verbal altercation during which the opposition MLA hurled an accusation against the chief minister. Meanwhile, the speaker appealed for order and insisted that the chair be addressed.
However, both Mann and Khaira continued arguing and could be seen pointing fingers at each other as the proceedings of the house were disrupted.
The AAP MLAs also rose from their seats with Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema condemning Khaira for his conduct and demanded action against him.
Cheema further alleged that Khaira "always tries to disturb the house" as he spoke about his conduct in the assembly.
The incident occurred as an official resolution on the revision of wages was presented at the special session by Labour Minister Tarunpreet Singh Sond who said it paid homage to labourers on the International Workers' Day.
"Workers are the axis of construction of the nation, the community, the state and society. Every construction project succeeds only through their blood and sweat," the resolution read.
As per the resolution, "The base rate of minimum wages for the working class in Punjab was last revised in the year 2012. Although the dearness allowance has continued to increase since 2012, there has been no increase in the base rate of minimum wages.
On this sacred occasion of May Day, in this special session of the legislative assembly, this house proposes to revise and increase the minimum wages of labourers and strongly recommends to the government to take a decision regarding the increase of minimum wages for workers, so that the contributions of the workers can be acknowledged." PRK
