Breastfeeding provides a protective hug and the benefits have outweighed the risks during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mothers have been very hesitant about breastfeeding when they have COVID-19 infection or vaccinations. Maternal milk protects neonates through its high biological value, immune factors and anti-infectious molecules and this review shows that the virus that causes COVID-19 is not transmitted through breast milk. COVID-19 vaccines induce anti-spike antibodies with neutralising capacity, and phagocytosis, and no vaccine particles or messenger ribonucleic acid have been detected in breast milk. Most drugs used for maternal COVID-19 infections are safe for breastfed infants. CONCLUSION: The clear benefits of breastfeeding by far outweigh the very low risk of infant infections from COVID-19.

Valuing maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health for societal progress - Going beyond the economic orthodoxy of gross domestic product.

AIM: In view of the long-standing recognition that gross domestic product (GDP) does not capture the unremunerated work largely conducted by women upon which societal well-being depends, to discuss the implications for GDP of maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health (MNCAH), and its influences on health, well-being and prosperity across the life course and across generations. METHODS: A wide-ranging discussion of the informal think-tank The Venice Forum was held over two days, with inputs from invited experts in person and online. RESULTS: There was consensus that a strong case could be made for inclusion of unremunerated work largely conducted by women as a positive contribution to GDP in view of its impact on future health and prosperity, and conversely exclusion from GDP of outputs from industries which harm health. CONCLUSION: Taken with the current challenges from COVID, climate change and conflict, there is a compelling need to redefine economic progress through equitable models and metrics that incorporate short-/medium-/long-term societal value of activities that improve MNCAH.

Action is needed to tackle the clinical, psychological and socioeconomic impact of perinatal COVID-19.

The COVID-19 pandemic has turned perinatal healthcare into a worldwide public health challenge. Although initial data did not demonstrate pregnancy as a more susceptible period to adverse outcomes of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, an increasing number of reports now certify maternal illness as a high-risk condition for the development of maternal-fetal complications. Despite the rarity of SARS-CoV-2 vertical transmission, severe maternal illness might induce adverse perinatal and neonatal outcomes. Additionally, perinatal COVID-19 data may raise concerns about long-term harmful consequences to the offspring in the framework of non-communicable diseases. The World Health Organisation, as well as scientific literature, consider the protection of the maternal-fetal dyad against COVID-19 as a critical issue and, therefore, strongly promote and encourage the vaccination of pregnant and lactating women. Furthermore, the pandemic has triggered an unprecedented recession, leading to historic levels of unemployment and deprivation, while health, societal, economic and gender inequities particularly affecting low-income and middle-income countries, have increased. This mini-review provides an updated brief report on historical, clinical, psychological and socioeconomic aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic based on 10 lectures presented at the 9th Maria-Delivoria-Papadopoulos Perinatal Symposium, held virtually on 19 March 2022.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the "Plague of Athens": comparable features 25 centuries apart.

Motivated by the up to now disastrous outcomes of the COVID-19 pandemic, we attempted a flashback to the so-called "Plague of Athens," which indicated a serious contagious disease, having taken place between 430 and 426 BC. The ancient pandemic was meticulously described by the Athenian historian and general Thucydides. We compared, as much as possible, the following parameters: background conditions, spreading of the pandemics, preceded and concurrent adverse events, duration and waves of the pandemics, symptoms, implicated infectious agents/diseases and mental/psychosocial consequences. The current pandemic was preceded by a global economic crisis, which particularly affected deprived population groups, while the ancient one started on the second year of a catastrophic civil war. Rivalry and different political systems between now (US/China) and then (Athens/Sparta) superpowers were the basis for conspiracy scenarios, concerning origins of the pandemics, which resulted to huge numbers of deaths, particularly in overcrowded and poor areas/cities. Both pandemics not sparing any age, sex, nationality, social group, may have had a zoonotic component, besides being air-born. However, their spreading is/was remarkably rapid, presenting 3-4 waves and lasting for several years. Some somatic signs and symptoms of the diseases coincide. Although for COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2 has been identified as causing agent, the antique pandemic has most probably been attributed to typhoid fever, although this is still a matter of debate. Additionally, both pandemics affected mental health and psychosocial behavior in close similarity. It is noteworthy, that in both eras physicians and healthcare workers, despite physical and psychological exhaustion, in the majority, presented admirable resilience and willingness to help suffering fellow people, often at the expense of their own lives. The considerable number of comparable features between COVID-19 and the "Plague of Athens" confirms that pandemics may present over time important similarities in their origin, evolution and outcomes.

Clinical symptoms associated with laboratory findings and placental histopathology in full-term, non-infected neonates born to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) positive mothers.

This study comprehensively examines clinical symptoms, laboratory findings, and placental pathology in 40 cases of singleton full-term SARS-CoV-2 negative neonates. Their mothers, previously healthy, with uncomplicated pregnancies, were infected peripartum and presented COVID-19 symptoms of various severity. Neonates had predominately diarrhea, the yet unreported absent sucking reflex, elevated COVID-19 inflammatory and ischemia/asphyxia markers as serum ferritin, interleukin-6 and cardiac troponin-T, while placentas demonstrated mild vascular and/or inflammatory lesions. We hypothesize that the above placental lesions may be associated with transient perinatal hypoxia resulting in absent sucking reflex, as well as with inflammatory cytokines transfer causing diarrhea.

Building resilient societies after COVID-19: the case for investing in maternal, neonatal, and child health.

Resilient societies respond rapidly and effectively to health challenges and the associated economic consequences, and adapt to be more responsive to future challenges. Although it is only possible to recognise resilience retrospectively, the COVID-19 pandemic has occurred at a point in human history when, uniquely, sufficient knowledge is available on the early-life determinants of health to indicate clearly that a focus on maternal, neonatal, and child health (MNCH) will promote later resilience. This knowledge offers an unprecedented opportunity to disrupt entrenched strategies and to reinvest in MNCH in the post-COVID-19 so-called new normal. Furthermore, analysis of the short-term, medium-term, and longer-term consequences of previous socioeconomic shocks provides important insights into those domains of MNCH, such as neurocognitive development and nutrition, for which investment will generate the greatest benefit. Such considerations apply to high-income countries (HICs) and low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). However, implementing appropriate policies in the post-COVID-19 recovery period will be challenging and requires political commitment and public engagement.