Evaluation of SARS-CoV-2 Mother-to-Child Vertical Transmission: Prospective and Observational Study

Abstract Objective  The COVID-19 pandemic was declared a pandemic and a global health emergency by the World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11, 2020. COVID-19 infection is the most common cause of life-threatening acute respiratory tract infection in adults and older people but more mildly in the childhood age group. While the pandemic continues, there is no clear information about the vertical transmission of COVID-19 infection from the mother to the baby. Methods  In our study, we aimed to examine vertical virus transmission (breast milk, amniotic fluid, placenta) in pregnant women with COVID-19 infection and to examine the demographic, clinical, and laboratory characteristics of these infants. Our prospective and observational study was conducted in our hospital between March 1, 2020 and July 31, 2021. Results  During the study period, a total of 24 infants were included. All infants were admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit for postnatal follow-up. The virus was not detected in breast milk or amniotic fluids by the SARS-COV-2 reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test, and no evidence of vertical transmission was found. Conclusion  In our study, no life-threatening complication was found in the babies of mothers infected with COVID-19 at birth. Babies born to mothers with COVID-19 infection did not develop any system findings that required specific treatment.