How Covid causes stillbirths? Scientists find out

Covid-19 infection can destroy the placenta, depriving the foetus of oxygen.

New York: Covid-19 infection is known to cause stillbirths in unvaccinated pregnant women, but the mechanism was not yet understood. A 44-member international research team studied 64 stillbirth cases and four early neonatal deaths from 12 countries to determine how Covid-19 caused perinatal deaths in unvaccinated expecting mothers, USA Today reported.

The findings, published in Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, showed that the Covid-19 infection destroys the placenta, depriving the foetus of oxygen.

Researchers determined the virus reaches the placenta and causes it to fail by passing through the mother's bloodstream, a process known as viremia.