Understanding the Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Infant Development - The Preterm Problem

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Wood, M.E
- Affiliation: Gillings School of Global Public Health, Department of Epidemiology
Delgado, M
- Affiliation: Gillings School of Global Public Health, Department of Epidemiology
Jonsson Funk, M
- Affiliation: Gillings School of Global Public Health, Department of Epidemiology

Abstract

As the COVID-19 pandemic nears the end of another year, it makes sense to wonder about the effect on children conceived and born in its shadow. Some of the consequences can be seen in the increasing rates of COVID-19 among infants and young children, particularly among those with comorbid medical conditions. But less obvious sequelae also should be considered: are infants born during the pandemic at greater risk for behavioral or neurodevelopmental problems, either due to exposure to maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection or to the more global effects of trauma and stress? Pregnant women and their infants are vulnerable to the effects of disasters, and evidence suggests that disasters affect maternal mental health and some perinatal health outcomes, particularly among highly exposed women. Prenatal exposure to some viral infections, such as rubella and HIV, increases the risk of neurobehavioral problems in children, and some have hypothesized that SARS-CoV-2 infection could have a similar outcome via in utero exposure to maternal fever, hypoxia, or inflammation.

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