Gradually, scientists are gaining new insights into the corona virus. For example, there is still a lot of discussion about the question whether an infection in pregnant women can damage the unborn child. To what extent the coronavirus can cause problems during pregnancy, US researchers from Chicago have now used a small study to investigate. The results appeared in the American Journal of Clinical Pathology.
The placenta of infected women was injured
Sixteen pregnant women infected with the coronavirus participated in the study. It was noticed that damage to the placenta (also: mother cake) was found in all women. In twelve women (equivalent to 80 percent), the injury even affected the blood supply from mother to child. The placenta of those affected had altered blood vessels, and 40 percent of women also had blood clots. In addition, the mother cake was smaller compared to the average.
However, the infection does not seem to have harmed the babies themselves: 15 of them were born between mid-March and early May after uncomplicated pregnancies and were not infected with the corona virus themselves. A woman miscarried.
Study author Dr. While Jeffrey Goldstein warns that inadequate blood supply to a fetus can delay development, So far, however, the limited data are insufficient to prove a general risk for pregnant women. It is therefore primarily important to provide the expectant mothers with medical care.
Coronavirus leads to blood clots
It's not the first time, that a study observed a link between the coronavirus and blood clots. It was not until the beginning of May that a small study from Hamburg showed that infected patients often die of thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. "Our results support the assumption that Covid-19 causes clots," said Dr. Goldstein, who is a pathologist at the Northwestern Medicine Prentice Women's Hospital, told Reuters.