Babies born to mothers who had a COVID-19 infection during pregnancy were not more likely to have neurodevelopmental disorders—those related to growth of the brain and nervous system—except for speech or language disorders, notes a study published in JAMA Network Open last week.
“Both human data and animal models indicate that immune responses during pregnancy impact fetal brain development,” wrote the authors, led by a team at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.
“SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnancy results in maternal and placental immune responses, and such immune responses may affect neuronal development and function, synaptogenesis [creation of new connections between neurons], and axonal targeting [formation of appropriate wiring circuits].”
Previous studies had mixed results
Past research examining the relationship between maternal COVID-19 infection during pregnancy and neurodevelopmental conditions in children has generated mixed results. Some studies showed no increase in such conditions, while others showed a spike in certain disorders.
To understand the relationship, scientists examined national registry data on 204,663 children born during the COVID-19 pandemic in Norway from March 1, 2020, to December 31, 2023, most of whom were exposed to the Omicron variant. They looked for eight neurodevelopmental and neurologic disorders: autism, developmental speech or language disorders, developmental motor disorders, intellectual disorders, any neurologic disorder, epilepsy, and sensory impairments.
We did not observe an increased risk of pervasive developmental disorders or epilepsy, to be considered as more severe outcomes, among these offspring, in line with our main analysis.
Of the total group, 16,325 children (8.0%) were exposed to COVID in utero. These children were not at increased risk for seven of the eight disorders, though they were more likely to have a developmental speech or language disorder when those born after March 1, 2022, were excluded.
“We did not observe an increased risk of pervasive developmental disorders or epilepsy, to be considered as more severe outcomes, among these offspring, in line with our main analysis,” the authors wrote, adding that more research in other populations and settings is needed to better understand the effects of maternal COVID-19 infection on babies.
