Covid 19 is linked to Brain Development Problems in Babies

According to a new study that looked at over 7,500 births, babies whose mothers were infected with the coronavirus during pregnancy have a greater chance of brain Development abnormalities, including autism and bipolar disorder. Even while newer variations are less likely to produce severe COVID-19 cases, the study, which was published Thursday in the journal JAMA Network Open, adds to the importance of getting coronavirus transmission under control.

If kids are exposed to other viruses in pregnancy, such as influenza and measles, they are likely to be more sensitive to diseases including autism, schizophrenia, and depression. SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, was studied by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School to see if the same could be said about it.

“There have been more than a decade of studies linking viral infection during pregnancy to neuro Development disorders, so there was reason to be concerned about this virus,” said Dr. Roy Perlis, director of Massachusetts General Hospital’s Center for Quantitative Health and the study’s senior author.The researchers looked at data from electronic health records of births that occurred in eight Massachusetts medical sites between March and September 2020, during the early months of the epidemic. The data looked for particular codes that would suggest a diagnosis of a Development issue relating to motor function, speech, or language, among other things, for a year after the kids were born.

The researchers discovered that 3 percent of 7,550 kids born to moms who were infection-free throughout pregnancy were diagnosed with a brain Development issue before their first birthdays. By the time they reached one, 6.3 percent of the 222 kids who had been exposed to SARS-CoV-2 in utero had been diagnosed.