Two stillborn babies in Israel from mothers infected with COVID-19 also tested positive for the coronavirus – with at least one of the deaths blaming the infection, according to a report.
A woman in her 36th week of pregnancy lost her unborn child at Meir Medical Center in Kfar Saba on Saturday after falling ill with COVID-19, the Times of Israel said.
Tests showed that the fetus was also infected, but the hospital did not immediately blame the pandemic for the death.
However, it was declared last week in a virtually identical case as the probable cause of death when a 29-year-old woman lost her child in the 25th week of pregnancy in Ashdod.
‘The fetus is infected by the placenta and with a very high degree of certainty, [we can say] dies due to coronavirus, ”said dr. Tal Brosh, head of the Infectious Diseases Division at Assuta Hospital, told Ynet News.
This was the first case in Israel reported in Israel, although it has been reported in Brazil before.
“This is a rare occurrence because a baby is usually infected with coronavirus after birth, due to contact with the mother,” said Dr. Yossi Tobin, the director of the maternity ward at the hospital, said.
‘The fact that we could see that they were already positive in the womb indicates a high probability that [the fetus] died due to coronavirus. ”
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that pregnant women be vaccinated, but mostly health hazards to the mother rather than their unborn children.
“Pregnant people with COVID-19 may be at increased risk for adverse effects of pregnancy, such as preterm birth,” the CDC warned.