Two stillborn babies in Israel of mothers infected with COVID-19 have also tested positive for the coronavirus – one report says at least one of the deaths is due to the contamination.
A woman in her 36th week of pregnancy lost her unborn child at Meir Medical Center in Kfar Saba on Saturday after falling ill from COVID-19, according to the Times of Israel.
Tests showed the fetus was also infected, but the hospital did not immediately blame the pandemic for death.
However, it was declared the likely cause of death in an almost identical case last week when a 29-year-old woman lost her child in the 25th week of pregnancy in Ashdod, the outlet said.
“The fetus is infected through the placenta and with a very high degree of certainty, [we can say] died as a result of the coronavirus, ”said Dr. Tal Brosh, head of the Infectious Diseases Department at Assuta Hospital, to Ynet News.
It was the first case of its kind reported in Israel, although others have been spotted in Brazil before, the report said.
“This is rare because a baby is usually infected with the coronavirus after birth as a result of contact with the mother,” said Dr. Yossi Tobin, the director of the hospital’s maternity ward.
“The fact that we were able to find out that they were already positive in the womb indicates that it is very likely [the fetus] died as a result of the coronavirus. “
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that pregnant women get vaccinated, but it primarily lists health risks to the mother rather than their unborn children.
“Pregnant people with COVID-19 may be at increased risk for adverse pregnancy outcomes, such as preterm birth,” the CDC warned.