What happened:
A Singaporean woman who contracted the coronavirus has given birth to a baby with antibodies against the virus. Celine Ng-Chan, was 10 weeks pregnant when she got infected with Covid-19, after returning from a family holiday in Europe, in March. She has given birth to a healthy baby boy, Aldrin, and coronavirus antibodies have been detected in his blood. Speaking to a media outlet she said, “It’s very interesting. His paediatrician said my COVID-19 antibodies are gone but Aldrin has COVID-19 antibodies. My doctor suspects I have transferred my COVID-19 antibodies to him during my pregnancy.”. Celine and her baby boy are now taking part in a study which is investigating the health impact of Covid-19 on pregnant women and their babies.
The background:
Presently, it is not known if these antibodies can actually protect the baby fully against Covid-19, or for how long. So far, Covid-19 infections from pregnant mothers to their babies are uncommon, according to the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in the U.K. But a French study in July found, what the researchers believe to be, the first case of a baby being infected with Covid-19 by its mother while still in the womb. That baby did go on to make a full recovery.