When the first pregnant woman diagnosed with COVID-19 was admitted to Yale New Haven Hospital in March, she was in her second trimester and critically ill. At the time, almost nothing was known about how the novel coronavirus disease impacted pregnant mothers and their unborn children.

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Yale physician-scientists acted quickly not only to save the mother, who had severe early-onset preeclampsia, but also to collect samples that might help them better understand the disease.

According to a case report, published Sept. 1 inin the Journal of Critical Investigation, the virus had crossed into the woman's placenta, likely driving her underlying high blood pressure to dangerous levelsan insight that sheds new light on how COVID-19 can accelerate pregnancy-related diseases.