Babies Born While Mother Has COVID-19 Could Be Immune to the Coronavirus

If you’re pregnant and your doctor says you have Covid-19, you’re probably going to worry about your baby.

After all, the coronavirus can have long-term effects on patients, and many other effects we’re not even aware of (yet).

But what if the infection turns out to be a good thing for your little one?

Babies Born While Mother Has COVID-19 Could Be Immune to the Coronavirus

Babies of women infected with Covid-19 might have a superpower: being born immune to Covid-19.

That’s right, according to a paper published in October by the journal Emerging Infectious Disease, babies of female Covid-19 patients may be immune to the coronavirus.

The paper notes that while babies of women infected with the coronavirus have been born with antibodies, it’s unclear whether it makes them immune, or how long the immunity will last.

The paper looked at eleven women who gave birth while infected with Covid-19 in Wuhan, China.

All eleven infants had detectable levels of IgG antibodies at birth, while five had detectable IgM antibodies.

Translated into English, IgM antibodies are the initial antibodies produced in response to an infection.

Since it’s quite large, it’s typically not transferred from mother to fetus through the placenta.

Conversely, IgG antibodies are smaller and can spread from mother to fetus this way.

The duration of this immunity, however, is unknown.

Evidence of Antibodies in Babies in Singapore

This finding may not be an anomaly, as there’s been evidence of babies being born with Covid-19 antibodies in Singapore too.

Checks at the KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH) detected evidence of antibodies among infants born to mothers with Covid-19.

The KKH and National University Hospital (NUH) are part of a broader ongoing study to determine the effects of Covid-19 on the well-being and health of pregnant women and their babies.

“We hope that findings from the study can help inform clinical guidance for the care of affected pregnant women and their infants, and help safeguard their health and well-being,” an NUH spokesman said.

Study: Children Produce Weaker Antibodies

As you know, Covid-19 doesn’t seem to cause severe illness in children, as they usually trounce the disease quite easily.

Paradoxically, this may actually be due to a weaker immune response.

A new study has shown that children infected with the coronavirus produce weaker antibodies and fewer types of them than adults do.

Some studies suggest that an overly strong immune response may be to blame for people who get severely ill from Covid-19.

On the other hand, fewer and weaker antibodies may mean that children can fight off the disease before it does any real damage, or cause symptoms.

However, having fewer and weaker antibodies doesn’t mean they are at risk of reinfection, according to experts.

Yes, for some unknown reason, Covid-19 seems to be afraid of children, and even babies.

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