Study finds slight developmental lag in babies born during pandemic

The study, in JAMA Pediatrics, followed 255 babies born in March to December 2020 in New York City, which was the U.S. epicenter in the pandemic’s early days.

The infants were screened for social, communication and motor skills at 6 months of age using a standard questionnaire about their ability to roll from their back to their stomach, how often they babble and other milestones.

In most areas, the babies born during the pandemic displayed lower scores compared to those born earlier. That held true whether they were born to mothers who had been infected with Covid during pregnancy or not, the researchers found.