Antibodies that guard against Covid-19 can transfer from mothers to babies while in the womb, say researchers indicating that vaccinating mother-to-be may also have benefits for their newborns.
There was no evidence that any of the infants had been directly infected with the virus and all were Covid-19 negative at the time of birth, further indicating that the antibodies had crossed the placenta - the organ that provides oxygen and nutrients to a growing baby during pregnancy - into the fetal bloodstream, the researchers said.
For the study, published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the team analyzed blood samples from 88 women who gave birth between March and May 2020 in the US.
Furthermore, while antibodies were detected in both symptomatic and asymptomatic women, the researchers observed that the concentration of antibodies was significantly higher in symptomatic women.
This data implies that pregnant women could pass along vaccine-generated antibodies in the same way, potentially shielding both mother and child from future infection. However, it is not yet known exactly how protective these antibodies might be, or how long that protection might last, they added.
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