![]() But the babies born during the pandemic scored lower in gross motor, fine motor, and social-emotional development than the babies born before the pandemic. The researchers noted no difference in the development of the two groups of babies born during the pandemic, suggesting that prenatal exposure to COVID-19 doesn't affect development, which is great news. Mothers participating in the study used an Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ-3) to record their babies' development. The third group was a historical cohort (a group of babies who were born before the pandemic). Two of the groups were born during the COVID-19 pandemic the mothers of one group had COVID-19, while the mothers of the other did not. In this study, part of an ongoing study of mothers and babies, researchers from Columbia University looked at the development of three groups of 6-month-old babies. There are multiple studies showing that maternal depression, poverty, and other family stressors can change the development of a child forever. When you are a stressed or depressed parent or caregiver, it can be hard to find the time, let alone the energy or interest, to talk to and play with your infant. When babies don't have those interactions, or enough of them, their brains don't develop as they should - and can even be literally smaller. As they receive and respond to those interactions, in a " serve and return" kind of way, neural connections are built in the brain. Babies need to be touched, held, spoken to, smiled at, played with. ![]() ![]() And it's not just the health of babies that matters, but the interactions between babies and their caregivers. The first three years of life are crucial for brain development. For babies born during this pandemic, a study published in JAMA Pediatrics suggests that the damage has potential to be lifelong. The COVID-19 pandemic has been hard on so many people in so many ways.
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