New study to look at how COVID-19 during pregnancy impacts babies

[KSTP-TV News, November 04, 2021] A new study by the National Institutes of Health is hoping to uncover answers about how COVID-19 during pregnancy may impact the unborn baby. NIH plans to follow 1,500 pregnant women with COVID-19 and their children for four years.

Researchers will periodically evaluate the children to see if they develop neurologic or cardiovascular abnormalities. They will also assess the mothers for lingering side effects of the virus, known as long COVID.

Dr. Ryan Loftin, president of Minnesota Perinatal Physicians, has cared for pregnant women during the pandemic at The Mother Baby Center locations in Minneapolis and St. Paul, a partnership between Allina Health and Children's Minnesota.

"I think this is really important because there's so much we don't know about the impact of viral illness," Loftin said. "We have concerns about what could happen to a developing fetus and we don't have all the answers."