Can a pregnant woman spread the coronavirus to her fetus? Probably, but it seems to happen rarely and there’s a good explanation for why that is.
Many viruses can cross the placenta and infect a fetus in the womb, and recent reports from Italy and France suggest the coronavirus sometimes can too.
Other work led by the National Institutes of Health gives a possible reason why fetuses aren’t infected more often: cells in the placenta rarely make the two tools that the coronavirus typically uses to gain entry.
The advice to pregnant women remains the same: Avoid infection by wearing a mask, washing hands and practicing social distancing.
