Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment has been made of the effect of the coronavirus on unborn babies.

Public Health England, NHS England and NHS Improvement contributed to the development of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists guidance on COVID-19 infection and pregnancy.

The review found that there is no evidence to suggest an increased risk of miscarriage. There is also no evidence that the virus can pass to the developing baby during pregnancy. It is therefore considered unlikely that if the mother has the COVID-19 virus it will cause abnormalities in the baby.

The guidance is available to view at the following link:

https://www.rcog.org.uk/coronavirus-pregnancy