Covid during pregnancy doubled babies’ risk of delayed development in speech, motor skills
- Risk rose to about 6 per cent among babies who were exposed to coronavirus in the womb, study showed
- The lags were seen in behaviour such as rolling over, reaching for objects or babbling – basic milestones of infancy
Babies whose mothers caught Covid-19 during pregnancy faced nearly double the risk of being diagnosed with delayed speech or motor skills by their first birthday, according to a study of medical records.
While the risk of developmental delays was low overall, it rose to about 6 per cent among babies who were exposed to coronavirus in the womb, while unexposed infants’ risk was about 3 per cent, according to findings released on Thursday in the journal JAMA Network Open.
The lags were seen in behaviour such as rolling over, reaching for objects or babbling – basic milestones of infancy.
Covid-19 has already been shown to affect a wide variety of the body’s systems and organs, including the lungs, heart and nerves.
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The study of electronic health records from more than 7,000 obstetric patients at Massachusetts hospitals, including those of 222 pregnant patients with Covid-19, along with their children’s, is another indication of the pandemic’s potential long-lasting impact.