News: Evidence Builds That Pregnant Women... (The New York Times) - Behind the headlines - NLM (2023)

FAQs

Does covid vaccine pass through the placenta? ›

COVID-19 vaccines DO NOT cross the placenta

When a COVID-19 vaccine is administered, it works in the muscle where the vaccine is given—It does not cross to the baby directly.

Evidence Builds That Pregnant Women Pass Covid Antibodies to Newborns. A new study suggests that protective antibodies can be transferred through the placenta, and the baby may receive more of them if a mother is infected with Covid earlier in her pregnancy.

Pregnant women with COVID-19 might also be at increased risk of problems such as stillbirth and pregnancy loss. Pregnant women who are Black or Hispanic are more likely to be affected by infection with the COVID-19 virus.

Vaccinated mothers pass covid antibodies to babies in utero and through breastmilk, early studies show. Pregnant women who receive a coronavirus vaccine may transfer antibodies to their fetuses through umbilical cord blood and to their newborns through breastmilk, early research shows.

Researchers at UHealth – University of Miami Health System and the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine have shown that, in two cases, COVID-19 infection breached the placenta and caused brain damage in the newborn.

Vaccination against COVID-19 had no impact on the health of placentas in pregnant women, according to new research by pathologists at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian.

The alcohol passes from your bloodstream through your placenta into your baby's bloodstream. Your placenta is not a filter. Your unborn baby doesn't have a developed liver to process alcohol. In early pregnancy, drinking heavily or binge drinking can increase the risk of miscarriage.

Still, acetaminophen and its metabolites freely cross the placenta and have been found in cord blood, newborn urine, and fetal liver, suggesting the potential for direct fetal toxicity [5–7].

Research indicates that a baby's passive immunity lasts for around six months. One study examined the passive immunity to measles in infants. It discovered that the babies' immunity to the disease diminished over time, and none of them had immunity by the age of 9 months.

Protection against getting infected does appear to wane over time. Protection against death and severe disease also drops over time, but more slowly. You can increase your protection by getting a booster from 6 months after your primary course.

How soon can a man get pregnancy symptoms? ›

How early can a man experience pregnancy symptoms? A man can experience pregnancy symptoms of couvade syndrome as early as his pregnant partner's first trimester. The symptoms often disappear in the second trimester before reappearing in the third trimester, which is when it's at its worst.

Alcohol use in the first three months of pregnancy can cause the baby to have abnormal facial features. Growth and central nervous system problems (e.g., low birthweight, behavioral problems) can occur from alcohol use anytime during pregnancy.

Newborns can get COVID-19 during childbirth or by exposure to sick caregivers after delivery. If you have COVID-19 or are waiting for test results due to symptoms during your stay in the hospital after childbirth, wear a well-fitting face mask and have clean hands when caring for your newborn.

If you're pregnant

The antibodies your body produces in response to the vaccine can also give your baby protection against COVID-19. You're at higher risk of getting seriously ill from COVID-19 if you're pregnant.

Infants can also become infected shortly after being born. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), most newborns who test positive for the coronavirus have mild symptoms or none at all, and recover, but serious cases have occurred.

We find no evidence of mRNA vaccine products in maternal blood, placenta tissue, or cord blood at delivery. However, we find time-dependent efficient transfer of IgG and neutralizing antibodies to the neonate that persists during early infancy.

Infants are at increased risk of severe flu symptoms. But a flu vaccine can't be given until a baby is 6 months old. The antibodies you develop from a flu shot during pregnancy pass through the placenta — and through breast milk if you're breastfeeding.

Babies born early (before 37 weeks of pregnancy) can have health problems, including breathing and feeding problems, vision problems, and learning problems. The progesterone shot (sometimes called "17P" for the drug name [17 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone caproate] or its brand name, Makena) can help prevent an early birth.

During the last 3 months of pregnancy, antibodies from mothers are passed to their unborn babies through the placenta. This type of immunity is called passive immunity because the baby has been given antibodies rather than making them itself.