Given the known limits of short-term memory, clinicians would be well advised to carefully consider their patterns of information-giving and their use of memory-reinforcing strategies for critical information.

Background: The consequences of SARS-CoV-2 on mother and fetus remain unknown due to a lack of robust evidence from prospective studies. Purpose: This study evaluated the effect of COVID-19 on neonatal outcomes and the scope of vertical transmission. Methods: This ambispective observational study enrolled pregnant women with COVID-19 in North India from April 1 to August 31, 2020 to evaluate neonatal outcomes and the risk of vertical transmission. Results: A total of 44 neonates born to 41 COVID-19-positive mothers were evaluated. Among them, 28 (68.3%) patients (two sets of twins) were delivered within 7 days of testing positive for COVID-19, 23 (56%) patients (two sets of twins) were delivered by cesarean section; 13 (29.5%) newborns hada low birth weight; seven (15.9%) were preterm; and six (13.6%) required neonatal intensive care unit admission, reflecting an increased incidence of cesarean delivery and low birth weight but zero neonatal mortality. Samples of cord blood, placental membrane, vaginal fluid, amniotic fluid, peritoneal fluid (in case of cesarean section), and breast milk for COVID-19 reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction tested negative in 22 prospective delivery cases. Nasopharyngeal swabs of two newborns tested positive for COVID-19: one at 24 hours and the other on day 4 of life. In the former case, biological samples were not collected as the mother was asymptomatic and her COVID-19 report was available post-delivery; hence, the source of infection remained inconclusive. In the latter case, all samples tested negative, ruling out the possibility of vertical transmission. All neonates remained asymptomatic on follow-up. Conclusion: COVID-19 does not have direct adverse effects on the fetus per se. The possibility of vertical transmission is almost negligible, although results from larger trials are required to confirm our findings.

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