The Emotional Experience of Mexican Women with SARS-CoV-2 during Pregnancy-A Qualitative Study.

Pregnant women have been considered a high-risk group for SARS-CoV-2 infection; the impact of the disease on the health of a mother and her child is still being studied. The emotional impact of the pandemic on pregnant women has been extensively studied. Emotional distress is proposed as a perspective to explain the emotional manifestations in women during this stage as something common rather than pathological. The objective of this study was to explore the emotional experience of women who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 towards the end of their pregnancy, during the first and second waves of COVID-19 in Mexico. A qualitative study was carried out: 18 pregnant women with COVID-19 were interviewed. A thematic analysis of the data was performed, resulting in 3 main themes and 14 subthemes. The COVID-19-infected mothers-to-be experienced mild to moderate emotional distress. It was more intense for those with comorbidities. This distress was aggravated during obstetrical complications and comorbidities, as well as during COVID-19 and postpartum. The emotional distress was appeased by both the perception of medical care and social support. The emotional distress of pregnant women with COVID-19 requires emotional support to reduce its impact.

Infants prenatally exposed to SARS-CoV-2 show the absence of fidgety movements and are at higher risk for neurological disorders: A comparative study.

Congenital viral infections are believed to damage the developing neonatal brain. However, whether neonates exposed to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) show manifestations of such damage remains unclear. For neurodevelopment evaluation, general movement assessments have been shown to be effective in identifying early indicators of neurological dysfunction, including the absence of fidgety movements. This study compared the early motor repertoire by general movement assessment at three to five months of age in neonates who were or were not prenatally exposed to SARS-CoV-2 to determine whether infants prenatally exposed to SARS-CoV-2 are at risk of developing neurological disorders. Fifty-six infants, including 28 in the exposed group of mothers without vaccination who had no need for intensive care and likely had SARS-CoV-2 infection close to the time of pregnancy resolution and 28 infants in the nonexposed group, were videotaped to compare their detailed early motor repertoires, in which a motor optimality score-revised (MOS-R) was calculated using Prechtl's method by using the chi-square or Mann-Whitney U tests. In the exposed group, 3 (11%) infants showed the absence of fidgety movements with a total MOS-R<14 points, and 3 (11%) other infants showed abnormal fidgety movements. Between groups, atypical body symmetry (p = 0.009) and MOS-R values were significantly lower (Z = -3.08, p = 0.002), with a large size effect (Cohen's d = 0.97). The consequences of this new virus go beyond the health of the pregnant mother, and these consequences in some of the infants in the exposed group are likely not transitory because of the absence of fidgety movements between 3-5 months; thus, these babies are at increased risk of developing a serious neurological disorder.