Newborn babies with COVID-19 may have only mild illness, mostly with fever

Worried about your newborn babies amidst the COVID-19 pandemic? The finding of a new study may give you some relief. A report from Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago has shown that infants under 90 days of age who tested positive for COVID-19 tend to be well, with little or no respiratory symptoms. Fever was often found to be the primary or only symptom in newborn babies infected with the novel coronavirus, noted the study, published in The Journal of Pediatrics. 

“While there is limited data on infants with COVID-19 from the United States, our findings suggest that these babies mostly have mild illness and may not be at higher risk of severe disease as initially reported from China,” said lead author Leena B. Mithal, paediatric infectious diseases expert from Lurie Children’s and Assistant Professor of Paediatrics at Northwestern University, US.

 

The researchers also found that none of the infants who were admitted to the hospital’s general inpatient service required oxygen, respiratory support, or intensive care. Despite mild clinical illness, the infants had notably high viral loads in their nasal specimens. However, Dr. Mithal is unclear whether young infants with fever and a positive test for SARS-CoV-2 require hospital admission. “The decision to admit to the hospital is based on age, need for preemptive treatment of bacterial infection, clinical assessment, feeding tolerance, and adequacy of follow-up,” she added.

Mithal believes there may be opportunities to utilize rapid SARS-CoV-2 testing to determine disposition of clinically well infants with fever.

How to keep your little one safe during the pandemic

These are a few guidelines recommended by health experts and health care organizations to protect your baby from the COVID-19 virus.

Practise Good Hand Hygiene: Always clean your hands before touching your baby and as far as possible avoid touching his mouth or nose. According to health experts, you need to wash your hands with soap and water for 20 seconds in order to keep germs away. If you’re using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer, rub it in your hands for at least 30 seconds.

Maintain social distancing: Instead of having friends and relatives visit your place to meet your baby, introduce your baby to them via video call. Because a study reveals that up to 45 per cent of coronavirus cases s are asymptomatic, that is the infected person show no symptoms.

Regularly clean your baby’s toys and gear: Health care agencies advise parents of newborns to regularly disinfect high-touch surfaces in their home and clean their baby’s toys and gear with warm water. Make sure to regularly clean your baby’s bottles, bedding and clothes as well.

Take precautionary measures while breastfeeding: Breastfeeding is good for your baby. It is more important to breastfeed your baby during the pandemic, says a study from the University of Pennsylvania. If breastfeeding mothers have any COVID-19 symptoms, the WHO advises that they should clean their breast pump and hands before going near the baby. They should also wear a mask while feeding the baby. Also, they shouldn’t forget to clean the breast pump with warm water after each use.

This is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.     

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Coronavirus doesn't transmit from pregnant motherrs to newborns, according to study

Amid the spurt in cases of novel coronavirus in different parts of the world, a new study which suggests that the contagious virus does not transmit from pregnant mothers to newborns seems to be bringing some sigh of relief.

Chinese professors report in the journal Frontiers in Pediatrics that it doesn’t appear that the viral infection is transmittable from pregnant mothers to newborns at birth.

The study is the second out of China within the last month to confirm that mothers infected with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) during pregnancy did not infect their babies.

All four mothers in the current study, which focused on the health of the newborns, gave birth at Wuhan’s Union Hospital while infected.

Wuhan in Hubei Province is believed to be the epicenter of the current outbreak that has sickened more than 100,000 people worldwide and killed more than 3,400 — most of them in China.

None of the infants developed any serious symptoms associated with COVID-19 such as fever or cough, though all were initially isolated in neonatal intensive care units and fed formula. Three of the four tested negative for the respiratory infection following a throat swab, while the fourth child’s mother declined permission for the test.

One newborn did experience a minor breathing issue for three days that was treated by non-invasive mechanical ventilation. Two babies, including the one with a respiratory problem, did have body rashes that eventually disappeared on their own.

It’s impossible to conclude whether there’s a connection between these other medical issues and COVID-19.

“We are not sure the rash was due to the mother’s COVID-19 infection,” said lead researcher Dr. Yalan Liu

All four infants remain healthy, and their mothers also fully recovered.

In the previous retrospective study on nine pregnant mothers infected with COVID-19, researchers also found no evidence that the viral infection can pass to the child.

All nine births were done by cesarean section. Three of the four pregnancies in the current study were also brought to term by C-section.

“To avoid infections caused by perinatal and postnatal transmission, our obstetricians think that C-section may be safer,” Liu said.

“Only one pregnant mother adopted vaginal delivery because of the onset of the labor process. The baby was normal. Maybe vaginal delivery is OK. It needs further study,” Lu added.

In previous coronavirus outbreaks, scientists found no evidence of viral transmission from mother to child, but SARS and MERS were both associated with “critical maternal illness, spontaneous abortion, or even maternal death,” according to Liu.

Globally, an estimated 3.4 percent of reported COVID-19 cases have died, according to the latest data from the World Health Organization. In comparison, seasonal flu generally kills far fewer than 1 percent of those infected.

However, COVID-19 does not appear to spread as easily as influenza. Note that transmission and fatality rates are currently subject to change and revision as more research is done on the virus.

The authors said further investigations into other aspects of potential COVID-19 infection in newborns and children are needed. For example, the sensitivity of the current diagnostic test for detecting the virus is about 71 percent, so they suggest evaluating its reliability in children.

Toward that end, the researchers are collecting additional samples from the newborns, including placenta, amniotic fluid, neonatal blood, and gastric fluid, among others, to detect possible receptors for the virus.


This is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.     

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Any Amount of Alcohol During Pregnancy Can Affect Baby

A new review has revealed that consuming alcohol at any point during pregnancy can lead to poorer brain function in newborns.

The study, ‘Evidence of detrimental effects of prenatal alcohol exposure on offspring birth weight and neurodevelopment from a systematic review of quasi experimental studies’ was published in the International Journal of Epidemiology.

Researchers at the University of Bristol compared 23 published studies on drinking during pregnancy and analyzed them in the review.

It was found that drinking alcohol in any trimester can affect the baby, in many cases leading to lower birth weight and poorer cognitive functioning.

According to a report by Daily Mail, the group tried to compare similar groups of people, who were only different in terms of exposure to alcohol during pregnancy. In earlier studies, research was conducted through ‘observational’ studies only, where participants were already exposed to a risk factor and researchers did not alter this.

Hence, this was the first time that results from different study designs were compared in relation to the effects of drinking alcohol during pregnancy.

Speaking to Daily Mail, study lead Dr Luisa Zuccolo, from the University of Bristol, said that their work confirmed the current scientific consensus which says “consuming alcohol during pregnancy can affect one's child's cognitive abilities later in life, including their education”.

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Friendly Bacteria For Developing Immune System In Newborns

The few initial years after birth are crucial for the growth and development of a newborn and play a pivotal role in his physical, emotional, and healthy well-being. At the time of birth, a newborn transition from an environment with limited exposure to bacteria in the womb, to an environment with exposure to air and surface-borne bacteria.

Bacteria!!! Sounds scary. But there are some friendly bacteria too.

Interesting facts– Over 400 species of both friendly and harmful bacteria - all microscopic in size, live in the human gut.

The Baby’s gut, with its nutrient-rich and favorable environment, nurtures beneficial bacteria to grow in number. Friendly bacteria present in our gut aids in digestion, absorption, and the production of a significant amount of B vitamins and enzymes. They produce many essential by products in the gut, which act as a barrier to the growth of harmful bacteria thus protecting against ailments and infection.

Gut is the largest immune organ as it contains 70-80% of body’s immune cells. It plays a very important role in supporting and strengthening a baby’s immunity.

Many researchers now believe that levels of friendly bacteria in the gut are influenced by prebiotics. Prebiotics, 3rd largest component of breast milk; act as energy source for the beneficial gut bacteria and help them remain alive in the gut. Increase in number of beneficial bacteria helps in reduction of potentially harmful bacteria in the body.

In short, supplementation of prebiotics, supports long-term gut health and immunity.

this is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.     
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