Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2020 Aug 1;319(2):E315-E319.
doi: 10.1152/ajpendo.00287.2020. Epub 2020 Jun 23.

Maternal and neonatal response to COVID-19

Affiliations
Review

Maternal and neonatal response to COVID-19

Thea N Golden et al. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. .

Abstract

The risk of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) to maternal and newborn health has yet to be determined. Several reports suggest pregnancy does not typically increase the severity of maternal disease; however, cases of preeclampsia and preterm birth have been infrequently reported. Reports of placental infection and vertical transmission are rare. Interestingly, despite lack of SARS-CoV-2 placenta infection, there are several reports of significant abnormalities in placenta morphology. Continued research on pregnant women infected with SARS-CoV-2 and their offspring is vitally important.

Keywords: COVID-19; placenta; pregnancy.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

No conflicts of interest, financial or otherwise, are declared by the authors.

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in pregnancy and the newborn. A: graphical representation of the maternal fetal interface. B: placenta villus and maternal capillary showing localization of the receptor [angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2)] for SARS-CoV-2. C: SARS-CoV-2 infectivity.

References

    1. Algarroba GN, Rekawek P, Vahanian SA, Khullar P, Palaia T, Peltier MR, Chavez MR, Vintzileos AM. Visualization of SARS-CoV-2 virus invading the human placenta using electron microscopy. Am J Obstet Gynecol. In press. doi:10.1016/j.ajog.2020.05.023. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Alzamora MC, Paredes T, Caceres D, Webb CM, Valdez LM, La Rosa M. Severe COVID-19 during pregnancy and possible vertical transmission. Am J Perinatol 37: 861–865, 2020. doi:10.1055/s-0040-1710050. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ashray NB, Chakarborty P, Colaco S, Mishra A, Chhabria K, Jolly M, Modi D. Single-cell RNA-seq identifies cell subsets in human placenta that highly expresses factors to drive pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2 (Preprint). bioRxiv 2020. doi:10.20944/preprints202005.0195.v1. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Baergen RN, Heller DS. Placental pathology in Covid-19 positive mothers: preliminary findings. Pediatr Dev Pathol 23: 177–180, 2020. doi:10.1177/1093526620925569. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Baud D, Greub G, Favre G, Gengler C, Jaton K, Dubruc E, Pomar L. Second-trimester miscarriage in a pregnant woman with SARS-CoV-2 infection. JAMA 323: 2198, 2020. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.7233. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

MeSH terms