Prognosis
Covid During Pregnancy Doubled Babies’ Risk of Delays in Study
- Moms’ infections linked to risk of slowed babbling, reaching
- Findings point to importance of shots before, during pregnancy
Photographer: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire/Getty Images
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Babies whose mothers caught Covid-19 during pregnancy faced nearly double the risk of being diagnosed with delayed speech or motor skills by their first birthday, according to a study of medical records.
While the risk of developmental delays was low overall, it rose to about 6% among babies who were exposed to Covid in the womb, while unexposed infants’ risk was about 3%, according to findings released Thursday in the journal JAMA Network Open. The lags were seen in behaviors such as rolling over, reaching for objects or babbling -- basic milestones of infancy.