Covid-19 can damage placenta, lead to stillbirths in infected pregnant women: Study

Coronavirus: The new research suggests that Covid-19 can invade and destroy the placenta and lead to stillbirths in women infected with Covid-19. It is an uncommon outcome for any pregnancy but it is safe to say that women with Covid-19 face elevated risk from the virus. Health authorities believe that vaccination could have some help to prevent such uncommon cases among pregnant women.

Researchers, in as many as 12 countries, including the United States, analysed placental and autopsy tissue from 64 stillbirths and four newborns who died shortly after the birth. All of such cases involved women who were unvaccinated against the covid-19 or had Covid-19 during their pregnancy.

The study bolsters evidence from small case reports and it confirms that placenta damage rather than an infection of the fetus is the likely cause of many Covid-19-related stillbirths, Dr. Jeffery Goldstein, a pathologist at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine was quoted as saying in the Associated Press. Goldstein was however not involved in the study, which was published Thursday in Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine.

Also Read: Coronavirus Omicron Feb 13 LIVE: Anti-Covid vaccine protests swell on Canada-US border

Chances of stillbirth higher in women infected with delta variant

As per the previous study, the chances of stillbirth were higher than usual for pregnant women with Covid-19, especially those infected with the delta variant.Vaccination recommendations include pregnant women and not their higher risk for complications when infected with the virus.

Dr David Schwartz, the leading author of the study, an atlanta pathologist stated other infections can infiltrate the placenta and cause stillbirth, typically by infecting and damaging the fetus. A recent example is Zika virus. Schwartz and his colleagues wanted to see if that was the case with stillbirths in women infected with Covid-19. They eventually found out the opposite: it was the placenta that was infected and destroyed.

“Many of these cases had over 90 per cent of the placenta destroyed — very scary,” said Schwartz.

The normal placenta tissue is generally healthy, reddish hue and spongy. But the specimens they studied were still, along with dark discolorations of dead tissue, Schwartz also noted that while any other infection can as well sometimes damage the placenta. This was the first such case where he witnessed damage of such extent.

The placenta is an organ attached to the womb in a pregnant woman. It connects with the umbilical cord, providing oxygen and nourishment to the baby from the mother’s bloodstream. The virus is most likely to reach the placenta with the help of bloodstream, attaching to the susceptible cells, causing protein deposits, an unusual form of inflammation that ultimately blocks the blood flow and oxygen. This led to the death and suffocation of placenta tissue, the researchers noted.

Covid-19 was detected in some of the foetuses, but evidence of suffocation in the womb implies placenta damage as the more likely cause of death, they added.

A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report in November reported that among pregnant US women infected with coronavirus infection, about 1 in 80 deliveries was a stillbirth — the loss of a fetus anytime after 20 weeks. That is when compared with 1 in 155 among uninfected women.

Also Read: Covid-19: Vaccinated patients less likely to need critical care due to Omicron infection, study finds

High blood pressure, certain chronic illnesses and fetal abnormalities are among the conditions that can higher the chances for stillbirths, including in women infected with Covid-19. It is however still unclear whether Omicron infections can also increase the chances for stillbirth among pregnant women. The study was done way before the highly infectious variant of covid-19 emerged.