Even a mild course is enough to permanently damage the lung volume of the unborn child. This is shown by a new study from Munich.
It is not for nothing that pregnant women are among the vulnerable groups when it comes to Corona. The reason: You don’t get the disease alone, but also affect your unborn child. Vaccination is all the more important for this population group. It has been proven that vaccinated mothers give birth to protected children.
Vaccinated women give birth to protected babies
goal of study was to clarify the effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection on the fetus, especially in light of the current discussions regarding the benefits of vaccination during pregnancy.
The scientists from Munich examined 34 fetuses using fetal MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) to determine the lung volume as a measure of lung growth in fetuses whose unvaccinated mothers had an uncomplicated infection during the pregnancy had gone through.
the fetal MRT is a highly specialized examination method that enables the development of fetal structures to be examined in detail before birth.
The women had contracted the alpha variant of the coronavirus at different times, confirmed by PCR-Test. The lungs of the fetuses were measured using magnetic resonance imaging, the lung volume was determined and compared with fetuses from a so-called reference cohort in which no infection had occurred during pregnancy.
Particularly reduced lung volume in the third trimester
“The fetuses of pregnant women who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 had a lower lung volume overall compared to the reference cohort,” explains Sophia Stöcklein. The effect was particularly pronounced in fetuses in the third trimester, averaging 69 percent of the expected mean for normal lung development.
A possible explanation for this phenomenon might be the transfer of the virus via the placenta into the amniotic fluid and from there into the fetal lungs. “The third trimester of lung development is particularly characterized by the maturation of important cells on the gas exchange surface,” explains Anne Hilgendorff, “so that contact of these cells with the virus might cause a change in lung development.”
What immune advantage mRNA vaccinated mothers have
The effects of the restriction will only become apparent
But: The newborns were fine right following birth. They showed neither shortness of breath nor other adjustment disorders. To what extent the reduced fetal lung volume might be of importance in the further development, the researchers want to observe in follow-up studies up to the second and fifth year of life of the children – with questionnaires on lung development and potential lung diseases.
In general, the scientists are in favor of further studies to follow up children whose mothers were SARS-CoV2 positive during pregnancy. “Our study results might be seen as another factor affecting the vaccination recommendation for pregnant women confirmed,” the researchers explain.
