The incidence of Covid-19 in newborns, children of mothers who suffer from the virus during pregnancy or in childbirth, and on newborns who have been infected after birth, are some of the central issues that concern experts .
The Spanish Society of Neonatology (SENEO) has been in charge of preparing a registry, with more than 1,100 documented cases of sick mothers with coronavirus during pregnancy or during childbirth . Among other things, it has been observed that the prematurity rate has been especially high in newborns born to a mother with Covid-19: 15.7 percent compared to the usual 6.5 percent.
The newborn should not be separated from its mother
Dr. Manuel Sánchez Luna, president of SENEO, points out that the initial data that came from Chinese studies on the incidence of the virus in babies were very worrying and unreliable, and recommended separating newborns from their mother with Covid, avoiding breastfeeding.
“Given the seriousness of the situation, SENEO made the decision to initiate a series of consultations with other research groups and official entities to reach a consensus.”
Thus, it raised its recommendations in force today before the birth of a newborn to a mother infected by SARS-CoV2 or with a high suspicion of being infected. They are summarized in:
-
Caring for this newborn with the aseptic measures typical of a normal delivery but with maximum protection from the health care personnel.
-
Perform a delayed clamping of the umbilical cord.
-
Skin-to-skin contact with the mother, as in another delivery without Covid infection, but keeping the mother’s mask.
- The separation of the mother from her child should be avoided, whether the result of the PCR test for SARS-Cov2 is positive in the newborn taken immediately after birth, or if it is not.
This is what Dr. Belén Fernández Colomer, coordinator of the SENEO infection commission, points out, who also insists on the importance of promoting breastfeeding , “since there was no evidence of transmission of the virus either in utero or through breastfeeding, since the cases reported have been occasional and sporadic “.
48 infected babies with favorable evolution
In order to confirm the efficacy and safety of these measures, SENEO created a national registry of newborns born to COVID-19 mothers, which began data collection on April 3 and in which 110 hospitals collaborate selflessly.
The complete study of SENEO, the largest of these characteristics, will be presented tomorrow, Thursday, at the V National Day of Neonatology. Regarding the results, 48 newborns who have been infected either in the community after hospital discharge or during their hospitalization have been registered. In all cases the disease has been mild, symptomatic treatment and favorable evolution.
For this reason, neonatologists affirm that transmission of the virus before birth cannot be 100% ruled out, but if so, the few very doubtful cases have evolved satisfactorily.
According to the data in this registry, in more than 60 percent of the cases the mother and her baby have been kept together , in skin-to-skin contact at birth and with breastfeeding. They have only been separated by the severity of the mother’s illness or the need to hospitalize the newborn, usually due to prematurity.
In any case, the newborns born to COVID-19 mothers have not suffered a disease due to coronavirus infection and the evolution has been favorable, except in cases of premature babies.
As a general conclusion, SENEO points out that “We are in a position to say that the measures that have been taken are effective and safe and should not be changed.” Even so, neonatologists want to call attention to the care of newborns, especially those born prematurely or with congenital heart disease, to protect them against respiratory infections, more common in autumn, such as respiratory syncytial virus ( VRS):
“It is important to reinforce hygiene measures, avoid closed environments and contact with people with respiratory symptoms, as well as with tobacco smoke.”
Photos | iStock
In Babies and More | Forty babies have been infected with coronavirus in their first month of life, between April and July, the Spanish Association of Pediatrics will create a national registry of children affected by Covid-19
