Acta Médica Portuguesa, the scientific journal of the National Association of Doctors, publishes, in its October edition, a scientific article having for main author the Hospital da Luz Lisboa neonatologist, Marta Ferreira . In this article, also having for co-authors two other specialists from Hospital Fernando Fonseca, the characteristics of new-borns from mothers with COVID-19 are analysed, concluding that there are no adverse results when the babies are kept in the same room with the mother infected with SARS-CoV-2 and are breastfed. The study had for purpose to assess the clinical results from mothers with COVID-19 and their new-borns, to understand, among other aspects, the risks of vertical transmission of SARS-CoV-2 by delivery and of infection when the baby stays near the positive mother and is breastfed after birth – an area where it has been difficult to obtain precise clinical guidance, concede the authors. In the about 1,800 deliveries performed at Hospital Fernando Fonseca between April and December 2020, the authors studied the cases of 81 mothers that tested positive to SARS-CoV-2 on admission for the delivery of their babies. Most of these pregnant women (88.6%) was asymptomatic and, after delivery, about 80% kept the new-born in the same room. Over half of these babies (56.7%) were breastfed since the start, none of them presented symptoms related with COVID-19 and all of them tested negative at birth and after 48 hours of life. In the whole, 85.2% of the new-borns were released from hospital together with their mothers. Pregnant women are not considered more susceptible to this kind of infection than the general population. However, according to the evidence concerning similar viral diseases and previous infections by other coronaviruses, there may be a higher probability of morbidity and mortality by COVID-19 in pregnancy. Nevertheless, recent analyses showed, as indicated in this study, that pregnant women with COVID-19 have immunological characteristics identical to women with healthy pregnancies , predominantly presenting minor or no symptoms. The incidence of infection in pregnant women at any gestational age is not yet clear, considering that, in this study, of all pregnant women admitted for delivery 4.6% tested positive, the majority being asymptomatic. As for results concerning the new-borns, this study confirms previous results, including the fact that there was no case of transmission due to the proximity between the new-born and the positive mother and breastfeeding. “ Characteristics of new-borns from mothers infected with SARS-CoV-2 in a Portuguese hospital "
