Pregnant Women Distressed During Pandemic May Have Babies With Reduced Brain Volume

A new study finds that women pregnant during the pandemic were more likely to be distressed and anxious and give birth to babies with less white brain matter.

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Pregnant women who were distressed during the COVID-19 pandemic are more likely to give birth to babies with smaller brain volumes, with the most significant reduction occurring in the left amygdala, a recent JAMA Network Open cross-sectional study found.

“These findings suggest that increases in maternal mental health symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic are associated with subsequent lower volumetric brain growth in newborn offspring,” the research team wrote in the study.