The Journal of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine, a US international peer-reviewed journal, published a scientific article by Caucasus University professor Tengiz Verulava entitled "Epidemiological characteristics of neonates born to mothers infected with COVID-19: A single-center observational study." See the article at the link.

The Journal of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine is indexed in the SCOPUS (Elsevier) International Science Database with a CiteScore of 1.4.

The article was also published in PubMed, the national database of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI).

Summary

COVID-19 can affect any stage of pregnancy and newborns can be infected with SARS-CoV-2 through vertical or horizontal transmission. Little is known about SARS-CoV-2 infection in infants born to mothers with COVID-19. Experts stress the importance of ensuring the safety of newborns without restricting the benefits of early contact with the mother. The aim of the study was to investigate the epidemiological characteristics of newborns born to mothers infected with SARS-CoV-2. An observational, prospective cohort study was conducted in the Intensive Care Unit of the Tbilisi Perinatal Center. Information was collected through the study and medical observation of neonates born to mothers infected with SARS-CoV-2. The study included 38 neonates with suspected (n = 16; 42.1%) and confirmed (n = 22; 57.9%) cases of COVID-19 infection treated in the neonatal intensive care unit. The study did not reveal the risk of vertical transmission of SARS-CoV-2 infection and confirmed a fairly large rate of horizontal transmission of infection (n = 25; 66%). Skin-to-skin contact (placement of a naked healthy newborn on the mother's body) was performed in 68.7% of newborns, 26.3% received breast milk. We can conclude that prevention of horizontal transmission of infection in infants should be a priority. Skin-to-skin contact between the mother and the newborn and feeding the newborn with breast milk is recommended after taking into account the health of the mother and the newborn, observing the rules of hygiene and having an infected mother use a face mask.

Verulava, T. and Galogre, N. ‘Epidemiological Characteristics of Neonates Born to Mothers Infected with COVID-19: A Single-center Observational Study’. 1 Jan. 2022 : 291 – 295.