Maternal SARS-CoV-2 Infection Linked to Neurodevelopmental Diagnoses

THURSDAY, Nov. 13, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Maternal severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection is associated with an increased risk for adverse neurodevelopmental diagnoses among offspring, according to a study published online Oct. 30 in Obstetrics & Gynecology.

Lydia L. Shook, M.D., from Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, and colleagues conducted a retrospective cohort study of live births to individuals who delivered between March 1, 2020, and May 31, 2021, to examine the impact of maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection on any neurodevelopmental diagnosis up to 36 months after birth. A total of 18,124 mother-child pairs were included in the analyses.

The researchers found that 140 offspring among 861 individuals with SARS-CoV-2-exposed pregnancies (16.3 percent) received a neurodevelopmental diagnosis by 36 months compared with 1,680 of 17,263 unexposed offspring (9.7 percent; unadjusted odds ratio, 1.80; adjusted odds ratio, 1.29). The largest effects were seen in third-trimester exposures overall and among male offspring (adjusted odds ratios, 1.36 and 1.43, respectively) in sensitivity analyses.

“These findings highlight that COVID-19, like many other infections in pregnancy, may pose risks not only to the mother, but to fetal brain development,” co-senior author Andrea G. Edlow, M.D., from Massachusetts General Hospital, said in a statement. “They also support the importance of trying to prevent COVID-19 infection in pregnancy and are particularly relevant when public trust in vaccines — including the COVID-19 vaccine — is being eroded.”

Two authors disclosed ties to the biopharmaceutical and medical device industries.

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