New research provides reassurance for pregnant women who contract COVID-19, suggesting that the virus does not appear to impair brain development in their children. The study, published in JAMA Network Open, found no significant difference in development at one, one and a half, and two years after birth between children whose mothers had COVID-19 during pregnancy and those whose mothers did not.
The research team, led by Dr. Eleni Jaswa from the University of California, San Francisco, emphasized the importance of these findings given the novelty of SARS-CoV-2, its global impact, and the potential sensitivity of the developing fetal brain to maternal immune activation. The study analyzed data from over 2,000 new mothers and their children recruited between May 2020 and August 2021 as part of a larger study assessing pregnancy safety during the pandemic. Approximately 11% of the participating mothers were infected with COVID-19 during pregnancy.
Key Findings on Child Development
Developmental screenings conducted at 12, 18, and 24 months revealed no significantly increased risk of developmental delay in children exposed to COVID-19 in the womb. For instance, at 12 months, about 32% of children exposed to COVID-19 had abnormal screening results, compared to 29% of unexposed children. By 24 months, the percentages were the same—approximately 17%—regardless of COVID-19 exposure during pregnancy.
Further analyses, considering factors such as the trimester of infection, the presence of fever during pregnancy, and whether the infection occurred before or after vaccination, also showed no differences in developmental delay.
Expert Commentary and Considerations
However, an editorial accompanying the study cautioned that it might be premature to definitively conclude that these children will not experience any developmental delays. Dr. Andrea Edlow, vice chair of research in obstetrics and gynecology at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, noted that the screening tool used in the study is not 100% accurate and that other studies have linked exposure to infectious diseases during pregnancy with increased risk to a child’s development. She stated, "In the context of complementary studies and larger studies that suggest different conclusions, the most honest answer is the best one: we do not yet know."
