COVID-19 Impacts on Vertical Maternal-Fetus Transmission

The health condition of women during pregnancy determines the well-being of their fetuses. During pregnancy, women with psychological or physical challenges are prone to physically weak newborn babes and may have severe difficulties during childbirth. For instance, pregnant women with adverse health challenges are likely to undergo caesarean during child delivery. Since previous research reveals a correlation in maternal-fetal health conditions, several studies have examined the impacts of COVID 19 infection during pregnancy. In this article,” Pregnant women with COVID-19 and risk of adverse birth outcomes and maternal-fetal vertical transmission: a population-based cohort study in Wuhan, China,” Yang et al. investigated the negative consequences of COVID 19 infection of the fetus. They also determined whether there was a vertical maternal-fetus coronavirus transmission. (1) Indeed, this study extensively revealed significant adverse impacts during child delivery but very few maternal-fetal vertical coronavirus disease transmissions, characterized by a good study design and proper data collection methods.

Yang et al. executed a study of the SARS-CoV-2 effect on mothers who had pregnancy and the possibility of utero vertical transmission to their neonates. Studies have shown that pregnant women have an increased incidence of respiratory viruses. Therefore, infection with SARS-CoV-2 by pregnant women may include maternal death, birth before the expected time, or neonatal medical aid. The researchers divided 11,078 pregnant women into two groups. One group with 65 pregnant women was diagnosed with COVID-19, while the opposite group was free of infection. The authors followed a “population-based cohort study”(p.2) that happened on January 13th and March 18th of 2020 in Wuhan, China. As a piece of the intense danger observation during pregnancy, the COVID-19 was a diagnosis registered within the “Maternal and Child Health Information Management System” (p.2) (MCIHMS) for pregnant women and followed up with mobile calls interviews to ask whether the babies are infected with COVID-19 or not. Furthermore, two essential assessment tools were employed in this experimentation using SAS version 9.4 for all findings. The primary assessment tool used was the chi-square test with one variable that compares the two groups of infected maternal and uninfected to estimate the ratio of newborns. In conditions with variables that could be perplexing, the second assessment tool used regression models with multiple variables to analyse the relationship between mothers’ COVID-19 status and unfriendly birth results. The study’s findings indicated a significant difference between the two groups; thus, infection throughout pregnancy with SARS-CoV-2 can lead to multiple delivery issues. This means the speed of caesarean and before the expected time delivery was higher in the first group (i.e., the infected group) than the opposite group (i.e., the uninfected group). Based on the Computer Tomography (CT) scan findings and SARS-CoV-2 examination for neonates, only three of them had a fever and one diarrhoea..

For sure, the findings of this study revealed notable strengths in the study design and data collection methods. Firstly, the authors conducted a population-based cohort study comprising of 11078 pregnant women in Wuhan, China. For sure, the study design was fit for accurate and reliable findings. For instance, all the pregnant women underwent COVID 19 diagnosis to ascertain their coronavirus status. Besides, the large sample ensured that all the demographic variables such as age were well represented. Also, this design confirmed that there was enough follow-up to ascertain the reliability of the findings. For example, all pregnant women were evaluated before and after delivery. According to Canova and Cantarutti, population-based cohort studies are ideal for establishing longitudinal study outcomes and are typically fit for generalization and replication. (2) Therefore, this study’s findings are likely accurate and have generalization power. Secondly, the authors use proper data collection mechanisms to assess various perceived effects of coronavirus infection on pregnant women and their unborn babies. For instance, all participants were subjected to a COVID 19 laboratory test at least once. In addition, those who tested negative on the first test but had coronavirus signs and symptoms were tested again to confirm their negativity. Also, the pregnant women with COVID 19 infection underwent a Computed Tomography scan to check the physical condition of the fetus. According to Mohajan, proper measuring tools are highly associated with accurate results, which guarantee reliable outcomes. (3) Of course, some scholars may have different opinions regarding the study design and measurement tools. For instance, Chu argues that the large sample size was risky because it exposed the women to even more chances of contracting COVID 19 due to increased physical contact. (4) Also, others may claim that the large sample measurements could be misinterpreted due to their complexity. However, Khan et al. argue that a mass assessment of coronavirus disease is essential for determining the health effects of the COVID 19 pandemic. (5)

In conclusion, this study’s excellent design and appropriate data collection techniques ascertain that pregnant women and fetuses face adverse impacts of the coronavirus disease during and after birth. The large sample revealed that most COVID 19 positive women during pregnancy are likely to undergo caesarean during childbirth. Moreover, newly born infants are prone to psychological and physical health challenges due to coronavirus infections during pregnancy. On the other hand, this study indicated no vertical coronavirus infection between women and their fetuses. All in all, this study established an effective survey design and proper data methods; hence the findings were correct and reliable. Further studies should be conducted to investigate the long-term effects of COVID 19 on women and children. Due to the severe negative consequences of the COVID 19 pandemic, the health sector should put more effort into ensuring minimal coronavirus disease transmission in pregnant women.

References

1. Yang R, Mei H, Zheng T, Fu Q, Zhang Y, Buka S, Yao X, Tang Z, Zhang X, Qiu L, Zhang Y. Pregnant women with COVID-19 and risk of adverse birth outcomes and maternal-fetal vertical transmission: a population-based cohort study in Wuhan, China. BMC Medicine [Internet]. 2020 Dec[cited 2021 Nov 1];18(1):1-7.Available from: https://bmcmedicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12916-020-01798-1
2. Canova C, Cantarutti A. Population-Based Birth Cohort Studies in Epidemiology [Internet].[cited 2021 Nov 1]. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/labs/pmc/articles/PMC7432312/pdf/ijerph-17-05276.pdf
3. Mahajan HK. Two criteria for good measurements in research: Validity and reliability. Annals of Spiru Haret University. Economic Series [Internet]. 2017 [cited 2021 Nov 1];17(4):59-82. Available from:
4. https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/83458/1/MPRA_paper_83458.pdf
5. Chu J. A statistical analysis of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in Italy and Spain. PloS one[internet]. 2021 Mar 25 [cited 2021 Nov 1];16(3):e0249037. Available from: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0249037
6. Khan AA, Alahdal HM, Alotaibi RM, Sonbol HS, Almaghrabi RH, Alsofayan YM, Althunayyan SM, Alsaif FA, Almudarra SS, Alabdulkareem KI, Assiri AM. Controlling COVID-19 Pandemic: A Mass Screening Experience in Saudi Arabia. Frontiers in Public Health [Internet]. 2021 Jan 18[cited 2021 Nov 1];8:1013. Available from: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2020.606385/full