Out of the total of 204 positive pregnant women cases, 100 are in Egmore government hospital, 45 in Royapuram RSRM hospital, 30 in Kilpauk government hospital and 29 in Kasthurbai Gandhi hospital in Thiruvallikeni.
The government directive of subjecting pregnant women to COVID-19 testing 5 days prior to delivery date has been intensified.
Due to the lack of research it is unsure how the virus affects newborn and unborn babies.
Very few cases have been used as examples for research.
In a study conducted with nine pregnant women who were infected with COVID-19 , showed that none of their babies was affected by the virus. The virus was not present in amniotic fluid, the babies’ throats, or in breast milk.
In another study where thirty eight women were infected with the virus found that none of the newborns tested positive for the disease.
Two case reports of infants born to mothers infected with SARS-CoV-2 demonstrated that the infants had elevated levels of antibodies to the virus but no clinical evidence of infection with the virus was demonstrated.
Another case report analized thirty three pregnant women infected with SARS-CoV-2, the research found that three of their newborns were also infected with the virus and had clinical signs of infection, as well as confirmation of COVID-19 infection.
There is no confirmation on whether these newborns were infected while in the womb or if these infections were acquired after birth, as the newborns were tested when they were days old. The possibility of vertical transmission (passing the virus from mother to baby) has not been ruled out by researchers.
