A new study has found that male fetuses may be more prone to complications from COVID-19 than females. When the pandemic stated, not many knew about the effects the virus would have on children, infants, and . The virus is “novel,” meaning that it is new and that means that experts had to learn and evolve quickly as time went on. Even though we are a year into the pandemic, experts are still trying to figure out how the and the babies that are inside of them.

According to , male fetuses are showing to impair the maternal/placental immune response to COVID-19 during pregnancy. This means that babies who are male in their mother’s womb may be at a higher risk for complications. This comes after reports that babies born to COVID-19 positive mothers may not face serious complications, according to , though they did state that more research needed to be completed.

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This further promotes the previous studies that were done that show that males (in general) are at three times higher risk for developing a serious illness related to the virus when compared to females. This new study proves that it goes all the way back to when males are in the womb. It also points to the already known fact that male fetuses are more likely to be ill while in the womb than females, even before COVID-19.

The study looked at 38 pregnant women who tested positive for COVID-19. Half of them were carrying male babies, and the other half were carrying female babies. They also had a control group of 30 additional pregnant women who tested negative for the virus. The split between male and female fetuses was the same. They found that when a mother was carrying a male fetus, there were clear changes in the placenta when infected with the virus, which can cause a change in the immune response.

It was not only the placenta that was affected, but the umbilical cord was also as well. The umbilical cord health is vital in a healthy and developing pregnancy, as it supplies oxygen and nutrients to the growing baby. When women tested positive for the virus, there was a reduction in passing through the cord to the baby. Antibodies that can keep the baby safe and protected against the virus. While every woman who is pregnant is being vigilant in staying safe from the virus, this points that women who are carrying males may need to be extra vigilant in protecting their babies from the virus.

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