Though preliminary, researchers say the findings could help inform how pregnant women should be clinically monitored during the pandemic. CHICAGO - A small study of women who tested positive for COVID-19 while pregnant found evidence of injury to the placenta, an organ that develops in the mother’s uterus and provides oxygen and nutrients to the growing baby.
Researchers conducted pathological exams of placentas immediately after birth and found insufficient blood flow from the mother to the fetus, as well as blood clots in the placenta.
The study, published May 22 in the journal American Journal of Clinical Pathology, involved only 16 women. But it is the largest study to examine the health of placentas in women who tested positive for