A study published on Thursday presents a disturbing picture of the devastation COVID-19 can inflict on pregnant women and their developing fetuses.
According to the study published in the journal Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, the virus can attack and damage the placenta, a vascular organ that serves as a fetus' lifeblood, resulting in asphyxiation and stillbirth.
"We have never seen this level of destruction from an infectious illness before. It rendered the placenta unfit to carry out its duties," Dr. David Schwartz, a perinatal pathologist in private practice in Atlanta, who led the study, said. "These fetuses and newborns died from asphyxiation due to lack of oxygen."
Placental and autopsy tissue from 64 stillbirths and four newborns who died shortly after birth were studied by researchers from 12 countries, including the United States. All of the cases were unvaccinated women who contracted COVID-19 while pregnant.
While there were no fetal abnormalities other than asphyxiation, the placentas displayed a pattern that the researchers have termed "SARS-CoV-2 placentitis."
It is caused by three factors: a buildup of a protein called fibrin, which causes clotting in the organ's fragile circulatory system; cell death in the placenta's protective cell layer; and atypical placental inflammation.
On average, more than three-quarters of the placenta was seriously damaged, preventing the organ from delivering oxygen and nourishment to the developing infant. More than 90% of the placenta was dead in certain cases.
During pregnancy, the placenta develops and joins to the womb. It joins to the umbilical cord and receives oxygen and nutrients from the mother's circulation.
The virus most likely entered the placenta via the bloodstream, connecting to vulnerable cells and creating protein deposits as well as an uncommon type of inflammation that impeded blood flow and oxygen. According to the researchers, this resulted in placental tissue death and asphyxia.
Coronavirus was found in some of the fetuses, but evidence of suffocation in the womb suggests placental damage as the most likely cause of death, according to the researchers.
Stillbirths among moms in the U.S. who tested positive for COVID while pregnant surged nearly threefold during the Delta wave that began in July, according to a study published in November by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Pre-pandemic, 0.59% of pregnancies resulted in stillbirths. During the early stages of the pandemic, 0.98% of pregnancies among coronavirus-infected expecting mothers resulted in stillbirths. After the Delta variant gained hold, the rate of COVID-infected expecting moms increased to 2.7%.
Doctors say the COVID-19 vaccine is the "single best" approach for pregnant women to protect themselves and their babies.
