Can a pregnant woman spread the coronavirus to her fetus? Its possible, but it seems to be relatively rare and scientists think they know why that is. Many viruses can cross the placenta and infect a fetus in the womb, and evidence has been growing that the coronavirus sometimes can too. In another, a newborn had certain coronavirus antibodies that are unable to cross the placenta, so they could not have come from the mother. A report from France gave even stronger evidence of in-the-womb infection, and that newborn was very ill at birth.