Assessing the Impact of Maternal SARS-CoV-2 Infection and COVID-19 Vaccination on Early Childhood Development
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Reviewed by Dat Tien Nguyen, B.A, ScM.
Translated by Nhi Phuong Quynh Le, B.A |
Posted on March 26th, 2025
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Currently, there is limited agreement on how maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection impacts early childhood development. Similarly, the effect of maternal COVID-19 vaccination on a child's early development remains unclear. To address these gaps in understanding, the United Kingdom’s Economic and Social Research Council sponsored a population-level study to evaluate the impact of both maternal infection and COVID-19 vaccination on early childhood development.
The retrospective study was conducted in Scotland and analyzed health records from over 24,000 child-mother pairs. These children, conceived after May 2020 and born in September 2021—when the alpha and delta variants were predominant—were assessed for developmental disturbances at 13 to 15 months of age. The evaluation focused on language and communication, problem-solving, gross motor skills, social interaction, and emotional/behavioral development.
After adjusting for maternal ethnicity, age, and smoking status, the researchers found that maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection did not increase the risk of developmental problems in children, regardless of the trimester in which the infection occurred—a finding that aligns with existing literature. Moreover, maternal COVID-19 vaccination was not associated with an increased risk of developmental disturbances; in fact, the data suggest that vaccination may reduce the risk of issues related to problem solving, social interaction, and emotion/behavior regulation. The researchers noted, however, that these findings could be influenced by unmeasured confounding factors, such as differences in social support, and hypothesized that vaccinated mothers might be more proactive in seeking medical advice to prevent developmental problems.
The retrospective study was conducted in Scotland and analyzed health records from over 24,000 child-mother pairs. These children, conceived after May 2020 and born in September 2021—when the alpha and delta variants were predominant—were assessed for developmental disturbances at 13 to 15 months of age. The evaluation focused on language and communication, problem-solving, gross motor skills, social interaction, and emotional/behavioral development.
After adjusting for maternal ethnicity, age, and smoking status, the researchers found that maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection did not increase the risk of developmental problems in children, regardless of the trimester in which the infection occurred—a finding that aligns with existing literature. Moreover, maternal COVID-19 vaccination was not associated with an increased risk of developmental disturbances; in fact, the data suggest that vaccination may reduce the risk of issues related to problem solving, social interaction, and emotion/behavior regulation. The researchers noted, however, that these findings could be influenced by unmeasured confounding factors, such as differences in social support, and hypothesized that vaccinated mothers might be more proactive in seeking medical advice to prevent developmental problems.