The physician Udo Markert, who researches the placenta and the role of the immune system during pregnancy, sees the main reason for the risk to mother and child in the mother's overall burden of the infection; less in a direct threat to unborn life from the virus. The corona virus can multiply in the placenta, but not very efficiently. "It is therefore extremely rarely transmitted from mother to child," says Markert.
The placenta – an important barrier for pathogens
The placenta, the placenta, is a very complex organ, a joint work of maternal and child cells. "The villi of the fetus in the placenta function as the lungs, liver and intestines," explains Udo Markert. The villi form a huge surface area in contact with the mother's metabolism - around five square meters in the middle of pregnancy, and even up to 12 square meters at the end. It is very precisely checked what is allowed in and what is not. "Pathogens are not allowed in," says Markert. Responsible for the control is the so-called syncytiotrophoblast, which consists of billions of fused cells and covers the villi like a thin-walled glove.
Some parasites, viruses and bacteria, such as toxoplasma, HIV, herpes viruses or listeria, still manage to get through. With sometimes dramatic consequences for mother and child: the development of the unborn child is delayed, organ damage occurs or the fetus dies.
Infection of the mother with the coronavirus does not necessarily lead to infection of the placenta, and even if the placenta is infected, the virus does not automatically pass to the fetus. However, that can happen. In a study in India of 313 newborns whose mothers had Covid-19 during pregnancy, the virus was found in 24 newborns after birth. The disease can cause pneumonia and breathing problems in children, but is mild in most cases.
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