While mother-to-newborn transmission of COVID-19 is rare, newborns of expectant mothers with COVID-19 can still have indirect adverse health risks due to worsening maternal illness from the disease, suggests a study.

Investigators assessed neonatal outcomes during the first month of life for babies born at 11 hospitals, and the team identified 255 neonates delivered from March 1 to July 31, 2020, to mothers with a recent positive COVID-19 test result. Of the 255 neonates assessed, 88.2% were tested for SARS-CoV-2, and just 2.2% tested positive, noted the investigators. While infection rates among newborns were relatively low, worsening maternal illness was accountable for 73.9% of preterm births… (HT – PTI, April 24, 2021)