Covid causes births to collapse, bringing a breath of frost to what Pope Francis has already defined as the Italian demographic winter. “Unfortunately we are witnessing a further decline in the birth rate – says Luigi Orfeo, president of the Italian Society of Neonatology (Sin) to Adnkronos Salute – Nationally for the first time in history, in 2021 we fell below 400 thousand children born in a year. The data is not yet definitive – Orfeo specifies – the most accurate Istat one we will have in a few months but we are certainly between 380 and 390 thousand. This is because – underlines the expert – Covid naturally added to the uncertainties economic uncertainty of recent years also a health uncertainty that certainly did not contribute to ensuring that couples could plan a future and therefore also a child “. On the other hand, the health impact of the pandemic on births is milder. “Fortunately, from the point of view of Covid neonatal infections – says Orfeo – things went much better. We as an Italian Society of Neonatology have a register in which the data of Covid children are entered and despite having seen an increase in positives from mothers with Covid in pregnancy especially in the months of December and January, when we recorded a very high peak, in proportion the number of children who became infected has always remained very low: 1.6% of newborns with positive swab at birth and another 2.6% with positive swab after 48 hours of life. A minimal amount – Orpheus underlines – which has remained constant in all epidemic waves “. Among these “all newborns substantially asymptomatic or symptomatic and no serious newborns. So there was no significant impact on neonatal mortality for Covid, fortunately the newborns were spared”. However, there was a problem related to the positivity to the virus of many mothers. “The number of premature births in the children of Covid-positive mothers has increased. If in the general population the premature babies are between 6.5% and 7%, among the children of Covid-positive mothers they have reached 12%, therefore substantially double because on the one hand the infection during pregnancy increases all the risks of those pathologies that can lead to premature birth and on the other because in the most serious cases of Covid it was necessary to induce delivery prematurely in order to cure the mother “. And there are still many unvaccinated pregnant women. “Unfortunately it is a problem at the moment – underlines Orfeo – There was probably a communication defect in the early stages, but as early as June and even more so since September all the scientific societies in the obstetrics and neonatology area together with the Higher Institute health authorities recommended vaccination during pregnancy in the second and third trimesters. But we still see women who began pregnancy before the summer, so at a time when – underlines the doctor – there were still no indications In the face of a communication that was a bit uncertain, they clearly were afraid and this, also due to the contagiousness of the Omicron variant, led to an increase in cases. But fortunately – he concludes – with very minimal consequences on newborns “.