Case study shows how COVID-19 breached the placenta and caused brain damage in the baby

Researchers at UHealth-;the University of Miami Health System and the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine have shown that, in two cases, COVID-19 infection breached the placenta and caused brain damage in the newborn.

While admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Holtz Children’s Hospital at University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Medical Center, a teaching hospital affiliated with UHealth and the Miller School, both infants had tested negative for the virus at birth, but had significantly elevated SARS-CoV-2 antibodies detectable in blood, indicating that either antibodies crossed the placenta, or passage of the virus occurred and the immune response was the baby’s.

Both infants experienced seizures, small head sizes and developmental delays, and one infant died at 13 months of age. The study titled, “Maternal SARS-CoV-2, Placental Changes and Brain Injury in Two Neonates” was published April 6, in the journal Pediatrics. This is the first study to confirm cross-placental SARS-Cov-2 transmission leading to brain injury in the newborn.

Researchers at UHealth-;the University of Miami Health System and the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine have shown that, in two cases, COVID-19 infection breached the placenta and caused brain damage in the newborn. While admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Holtz Children’s Hospital at University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Medical Center,…

Researchers at UHealth-;the University of Miami Health System and the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine have shown that, in two cases, COVID-19 infection breached the placenta and caused brain damage in the newborn. While admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Holtz Children’s Hospital at University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Medical Center,…