Covid infection could damage foetuses of pregnant women, reveals study

Foetuses and placentas of pregnant women especially those infected with Covid19 at earlier points in the pandemic were found to bear a greater risk of experiencing growth impairment or vascular lesions in organs and brain according to a new researchAccording to the research results demonstrate that the different strains of the virus that emerged during the pandemic led to varying degrees of damage which was especially higher by those involving preOmicron variants The detected placental lesions could potentially harm both development and health in some of the affected unborn children the study saidUsing prenatal magnetic resonance imaging a group of Medical University of Vienna Austria researchers examined the placentas and foetuses of women who tested positive for SARSCoV2 during pregnancy the study said The research was published in the journal The Lancet Regional Health EuropeWhile such damage occurs more infrequently and is less severe with the currently circulating Omicron sublineages the study authors still advocate early detection measures for pregnant women who test positive for coronavirus Contrary to previous studies in which SARSCoV2related abnormalities were only identified postnatally andor through histopathological procedures the research team focused on prenatal imaging findings the study saidUsing prenatal magnetic resonance imaging MRI 76 scans of placentas and foetuses of pregnant women were performed in the study 38 following a confirmed SARSCoV2 infection preOmicron or Omicron variants and 38 in healthy control cases the study saidAlso read BF7 and XBB All you need to know about the subvariants and their severityThe study found that the placentas in both the preOmicron and the Omicron groups revealed abnormalities Infections with preOmicron variants such as Delta led to significantly greater damage in the form of vascular events such as blood clots or bleeding than with the Omicron subvariants currently circulating through the population noted lead author Patric Kienast outlining a key finding of the studyThe researchers attribute the varying extent of damage to the placenta caused by different virus strains to the fact that Omicron sublineages are less likely than their predecessors to result in severe cases and to higher vaccination rates as the pandemic has progressed the study saidIn any case our results showed that the two nonvaccinated study participants developed placental abnormalities following infection with SARSCoV2 Omicron compared with just one out of six of the women who had received three doses of the vaccine confirmed senior author Gregor KasprianOxygen nutrients and metabolic products are exchanged between mother and child in the placenta Attached to the uterine wall this organ forms such a strong barrier against the coronavirus that only 3 per cent or fewer of foetuses whose mothers test positive for SARSCoV2 are also infected the study said But as the study shows the placenta itself is not spared from complications caused by Covid19 Subsequently some unborn babies experience stunted growth or bleeding in the brain the study saidThis is why the placentas of pregnant women who have been infected with SARSCoV2 should be examined as soon as possible after testing positive using prenatal imaging techniques advised Daniela Prayer from Medical University of Vienna citing the importance of scanning particularly in the case of possible future coronavirus variants with mechanisms similar to Delta for exampleBy doing so there is a chance to take measures to safeguard the health of the foetus in a worst case scenario the study saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever