Baby Born with COVID-19 Antibodies in Singapore

Doctors Presume COVID-19 Antibody Transfer from Mothers to Newborns... WHO Says "Uncertain"

As the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, cases of infection among infants and toddlers are being reported worldwide. This photo shows a mother infected with the novel coronavirus giving birth to a baby via cesarean section in Shanxi Province, China. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Nahana] The Straits Times reported on the 29th that a pregnant woman who had been infected with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in Singapore gave birth to a baby with COVID-19 antibodies this month.

The newspaper stated that the baby was born without any COVID-19 symptoms but with COVID-19 antibodies.

The mother, Celine Ng Chan, said, "The doctor believes that I passed the COVID-19 antibodies to my baby during pregnancy."

She was infected with COVID-19 in March, experienced mild symptoms, and was discharged after two and a half weeks.

According to the newspaper, the World Health Organization (WHO) has not yet determined whether pregnant women infected with COVID-19 can transmit the virus to their babies. So far, there has never been a case where the COVID-19 virus was found in the amniotic fluid or breast milk of pregnant women.

Doctors at New York-Presbyterian Columbia University Irving Medical Center reported that transmission of the COVID-19 virus from mother to newborn is rare.

Meanwhile, Chinese doctors reported in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases that COVID-19 antibodies were found in babies born to women infected with COVID-19 last October, but these antibodies decreased after birth.