The ISCIII through the extraordinary call for research projects on SARS-COV-2 and the Covid-19 disease has financed the project “Seroprevalence against SARS-CoV-2 in pregnant women and newborns” directed by Dr. Cabero -Head of the Pediatrics Service- and Dr. Llorca -Professor of Preventive Medicine and Public Health-.
This project aims to know the impact that COVID-19 has on pregnant women and their children and analyze how their care has been during delivery and postpartum. Through this study, the real prevalence in this segment of the population will be known, not only the direct consequences of the infection, but also the children will be followed in case any consequence is derived in the medium term and it will be analyzed if there are differences in depending on the quarter in which they have had contact with the virus. For this purpose, the participation of 1,000 pregnant women whose delivery occurred after March 23 or who are still pregnant is intended. In Valdecilla, the PCR test is already being carried out to diagnose the presence of the virus in all pregnant women. The participants in the project are also tested for antibodies to them and their children, and they are followed for a year to find out their health status.
So far, there are already more than 500 participants, from whom information has been collected on the characteristics of pregnancy and childbirth, as well as their personal history. Only eight of the participants were infected with COVID-19 at the time of delivery; all their children were born without the infection, and positive antibodies have been detected in a part of the pregnant women that were not known. The acceptance by the families has been very good and it is carried out with the maximum security measures for all. The study at 6 months and 12 months will also allow us to see the evolution of the pandemic.
The project funded by the special call on COVID-19 of the Carlos III Health Institute and is being carried out with researchers from the Pediatrics and Obstetrics and Gynecology services, and with the excellent collaboration of the Microbiology and Immunology services of the Valdecilla Hospital, being a multiprofessional study with great nursing involvement.
