More evidence shows pregnant mothers infected with novel coronavirus do not pass on the virus to newborns. 

Chinese researchers, in a study based on four pregnant women infected with the new virus SARS-CoV-2, admitted at Union Hospital in Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, found no evidence of the infection transmission to newborns.  

After delivery, three of the four babies tested negative for COVID-19, the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2. One mother refused to grant permission to carry out a throat swab test for her baby. But the child showed no symptoms of the infection. 

All four babies— three males and one female—are healthy. 

As a precautionary measure, doctors decided to conduct delivery through cesarean section, to prevent transmission of the virus from the mother to the child during the time of birth.  

"To avoid infections caused by perinatal and postnatal transmission, our obstetricians think that C-section may be safer," said Dr. Yalan Liu, co-author of the study. However, one woman delivered her baby through the standard procedure. 

Immediately after their birth, all the four infants were isolated from their mothers and were fed formula milk, read the study published in Frontiers in Paediatrics on Monday.

A few days after delivering the babies, three mothers recovered from COVID-19 and were released from the hospital. However, one mother suffered complications leading to respiratory support. She managed to recuperate within a week.  

The study, second in a month, is likely to allay fears of pregnant women and medical staff as the coronavirus pandemic has spread over to 50 countries. The number of infected cases surpassed 150,000 and caused more than 6,000 deaths globally as of March 17.

The previous study published in the Lancet was based on nine infected pregnant women in their third trimester admitted at the Zhongnan Hospital in Wuhan from January 20 to 31.

Seven of them delivered babies through cesarean section, and two developed minor complications. None of them were found to be infected with the novel coronavirus. 

Previous outbreaks of coronavirus, which led to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in 2002 and 2012, respectively, had wreaked havoc on expecting mothers.

A significant number of pregnant women infected with SARS or MERS suffered miscarriages, kidney failures, putting mothers, and newborns under intensive care. 

Since the new strain of virus also belongs to the same family of coronavirus, it raises similar concerns among doctors dealing with maternal and child care. 

More investigations into other aspects of potential COVID-19 infection in newborns and children are needed, researchers maintained. The sensitivity of the current diagnostic test for detecting the virus is about 71 percent, so they suggest evaluating its reliability in children.

Early this week, a coronavirus-infected woman delivered a baby at North Middlesex hospital, in Enfield, UK. The newborn also tested positive for COVID-19 minutes after being born. Hospital authorities are yet to ascertain the transmission route of the infection. 

In a speech, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged people to avoid unnecessary social contact. This step is "particularly important for people over 70, for pregnant women and for those with some health conditions," he said. 

(Top Image: In North Charleston, S.C. Roper St. Francis Healthcare is providing drive-through specimen collecting for patients suspected of having COVID-19 or flu who have already been screened by a Virtual Care provider, March 16, 2020. /AP)