(Nicoletta Lanesse/ Live Science) — If a woman catches COVID-19 during pregnancy, can her baby pick up any immunity to the virus in the womb? Early data hint that the answer is yes, but many questions still remain.
In a new study, published Jan. 29 in the journal JAMA Pediatrics, scientists analyzed blood samples from more than 1,470 pregnant women, 83 of whom tested positive for antibodies for SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, at the time of delivery. Umbilical cord blood samples from the majority of babies born to these women also tested positive for antibodies, suggesting the babies picked up this passive immunity.
The number of antibodies passed to the baby largely depended on the type and quantity of antibodies that were present in the mother, and when she caught COVID-19 during pregnancy. (…)