Posted on Dec 20, 2021
Pandemic poses short- and long-term risks to babies, especially boys
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The pandemic has created a hostile environment for pregnant people and their babies.
Stress levels among expectant mothers have soared. Pregnant women with Covid are five times as likely as uninfected pregnant people to require intensive care and 22 times as likely to die. Infected moms are four times as likely to have a stillborn child.
Yet some of the pandemic’s greatest threats to infants’ health may not be apparent for years or even decades.
Stress levels among expectant mothers have soared. Pregnant women with Covid are five times as likely as uninfected pregnant people to require intensive care and 22 times as likely to die. Infected moms are four times as likely to have a stillborn child.
Yet some of the pandemic’s greatest threats to infants’ health may not be apparent for years or even decades.
Pandemic poses short- and long-term risks to babies, especially boys
Posted from nbcnews.com
Pregnancy
Medical
Health
Posted >1 y ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Damaging a fetal security system
The good news about the coronavirus is that it seldom crosses the placenta, the organ tasked with protecting a developing fetus from infections and providing it with oxygen. So moms with Covid rarely give the virus to their children before birth.
That’s important, because some viruses that directly infect the fetus — such as Zika — can cause devastating birth defects, said Dr. Karin Nielsen-Saines, a specialist in pediatric infectious diseases at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine.
But studies also suggest that inflammation from a mother’s Covid infection can injure the placenta, said Dr. Jeffery Goldstein, an assistant professor of pathology at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. In a study published last year, Goldstein and his co-authors found that placentas from Covid-infected moms had more abnormal blood vessels than placentas from patients without Covid, making it harder for them to deliver sufficient oxygen to the fetus.
Placental damage can also lead to preeclampsia, a serious complication of pregnancy that can cause a mother’s blood pressure to spike.
Preeclampsia occurs when blood vessels in the placenta don’t develop or function properly, forcing the mother’s heart to work harder to get blood to the fetus, which may not receive enough oxygen and nutrients. Preeclampsia also predisposes women to heart attacks and strokes later in life."...
..."Damaging a fetal security system
The good news about the coronavirus is that it seldom crosses the placenta, the organ tasked with protecting a developing fetus from infections and providing it with oxygen. So moms with Covid rarely give the virus to their children before birth.
That’s important, because some viruses that directly infect the fetus — such as Zika — can cause devastating birth defects, said Dr. Karin Nielsen-Saines, a specialist in pediatric infectious diseases at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine.
But studies also suggest that inflammation from a mother’s Covid infection can injure the placenta, said Dr. Jeffery Goldstein, an assistant professor of pathology at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. In a study published last year, Goldstein and his co-authors found that placentas from Covid-infected moms had more abnormal blood vessels than placentas from patients without Covid, making it harder for them to deliver sufficient oxygen to the fetus.
Placental damage can also lead to preeclampsia, a serious complication of pregnancy that can cause a mother’s blood pressure to spike.
Preeclampsia occurs when blood vessels in the placenta don’t develop or function properly, forcing the mother’s heart to work harder to get blood to the fetus, which may not receive enough oxygen and nutrients. Preeclampsia also predisposes women to heart attacks and strokes later in life."...
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For more history on pandemics
An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793 (Newbery Honor Book) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NS3UNQC/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_RR6S0C8CZHSQEJEKGSPY
An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793 (Newbery Honor Book) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NS3UNQC/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_RR6S0C8CZHSQEJEKGSPY
Amazon.com: An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of...
Amazon.com: An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793 (Newbery Honor Book) eBook : Murphy, Jim: Kindle Store
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