Boys' brain development in the womb may be delayed if the mother contracts COVID-19 while pregnant, a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Network Open finds. The research showed that boys born to people who had COVID-19 during pregnancy were twice as likely to be diagnosed with a developmental disorder in their first 18 months of life, NPR reports. Baby girls did not show the same results.
"Male fetuses are known to be more vulnerable to maternal infectious exposures during pregnancy," according to the study's lead author Andrea Edlow. However, there is only a slight increase in risk, and "most children of moms who have COVID during pregnancy won't have neurodevelopmental consequences even if there is some increase in risk," explains study co-author Roy Perlis.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"There is growing evidence linking prenatal maternal infection and inflammation and risk for later neurodevelopmental disorders like ADHD, schizophrenia," maternal-infant health expert Catherine Limperopoulos told USA Today. This is due to the body's immune response to the infection, producing proteins to fight infections called cytokines. These proteins can cause inflammation in fetal brains. "There is a link between maternal immune activation, changes in gene expression in the brain, changes in brain development, and long-lasting changes in behaviors," remarked Kim McAllister, a professor at the University of California, Davis to NPR.
"All we can hope to detect at this point are more subtle sorts of things like delays in language and speech, and delays in motor milestones," Perlis said.
-
Marisa Silver’s 6 favorite books that capture a lifetimeFeature The author recommends works by John Williams, Ian McEwan, and more
-
Book reviews: ‘We the People: A History of the U.S. Constitution’ and ‘Will There Ever Be Another You’Feature The many attempts to amend the U.S. Constitution and Patricia Lockwood’s struggle with long Covid
-
Philadelphia’s Calder GardensFeature A permanent new museum
-
FDA OKs generic abortion pill, riling the rightSpeed Read The drug in question is a generic version of mifepristone, used to carry out two-thirds of US abortions
-
The new Stratus Covid strain – and why it’s on the riseThe Explainer ‘No evidence’ new variant is more dangerous or that vaccines won’t work against it, say UK health experts
-
‘Nightmare bacteria’ are rapidly spreadingUnder the radar The infections are largely resistant to antibiotics
-
Kissing bug disease has a growing presence in the USThe explainer The disease has yielded a steady stream of cases in the last 10 years
-
Climate change is making us eat more sugarUnder the radar Sweets make the heat feel more manageable
-
Trump makes unmoored claims on Tylenol and autismSpeed Read No causal relationship has been established between autism and acetaminophen use during pregnancy
-
RFK Jr. vaccine panel advises restricting MMRV shotSpeed Read The committee voted to restrict access to a childhood vaccine against chickenpox
-
Human evolution may be responsible for autism ratesUnder the radar Neurodiversity and a complex brain may go hand in hand
