New Delhi: Children born to mothers who contracted Covid-19 during pregnancy may face a higher risk of developmental disorders, including speech delays, autism, and motor difficulties, by the age of three, according to new research.

Scientists from Mass General Brigham in the US suggested that immune activation during pregnancy may disrupt normal foetal brain development, leading to such outcomes.

“These findings highlight that Covid-19, like many other infections in pregnancy, may pose risks not only to the mother, but to foetal brain development,” said Dr Andrea Edlow, a maternal–fetal medicine specialist in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Mass General Brigham.

The study, published in the journal 'Obstetrics and Gynaecology', analysed 18,124 live births between March 2020 and May 2021, the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic. Among the 861 children born to mothers who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 during pregnancy, 140 (16.3 per cent) were diagnosed with a neurodevelopmental disorder by age three, compared with 1,680 (9.7 per cent) of the 17,263 children whose mothers were not infected.

After adjusting for other influencing factors, the researchers found that Covid-19 infection during pregnancy was linked to a 29 per cent higher likelihood of a neurodevelopmental condition in children. The risk was notably higher in boys and was greatest when infection occurred during the third trimester.

The study also underscored the importance of preventing Covid-19 infection during pregnancy, especially at a time when public confidence in vaccines, including the Covid-19 vaccine, has been declining.

While emphasising the need for caution, co-senior author Dr Roy Perlis of the Mass General Brigham Department of Psychiatry noted that “the overall risk of adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes in exposed children likely remains low.”

IANS