The investigation did not reveal an increased risk of significant congenital malformations in the children of pregnant women who became ill or were vaccinated against SARS-Cov-2 during the first trimester. On the basis that infection with this coronavirus is associated with an increased risk of complications during pregnancy or delivery, such as premature birth, some 350,000 babies born from 2020 to 2022 in Denmark, Norway and Sweden were investigated.

Of these, around five percent were born with a major malformation, covering a very wide range, from heart defects to eye or genital problems. But the consequences of these disorders are not yet known.

The research also sought to establish the possible consequences of an anti-covid vaccination, as this is often widely recommended for pregnant women.

The proportion found did not seem to differ significantly depending on whether or not the mother was infected or vaccinated during the first three months of gestation, a key period for the development of the fetus.

Such results provided new evidence that anticovid vaccination in pregnant women is safe, the researchers concluded.

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