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Prenatal mental health and emotional experiences during the pandemic: associations with infant neurodevelopment screening results

Pediatric Research volume 96, pages 237–244 (2024)Cite this article

Background

This study determined whether parental mental health and emotional experiences during the prenatal period were linked to infant developmental outcomes through the Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ-3) at 8−10 months.

Methods

Participants included 133 individuals who were living in the US and were pregnant or had given birth within 6 months prior to enrollment. Respondents were majority White with high education and income levels. Online surveys were administered from May 2020 to September 2021; follow-up surveys were administered from November 2020 to August 2022.

Results

Parent generalized anxiety symptoms were positively associated with infant communication (β = 0.34, 95% CI [0.15, 1.76], p < 0.05), while parent-fetal bonding was positively associated with infant communication (β = 0.20, 95% CI [0.05, 0.76], p < 0.05) and personal-social performance (β = 0.20, 95% CI [0.04, 0.74], p < 0.05). COVID-19-related worry was negatively associated with infant communication (β = −0.30, 95% CI [−0.75, −0.12], p < 0.05) and fine motor performance (β = −0.25, 95% CI [−0.66, −0.03], p < 0.05).

Conclusion

Parent mental health and emotional experiences may contribute to infant developmental outcomes in high risk conditions such as a pandemic.

Impact statement

  • Maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection has been evaluated in relation to child outcomes, however, parent psychosocial experiences should not be overlooked when considering pandemic risks to child development.

  • Specific prenatal mental health and pandemic-related emotional experiences are associated with infant developmental performance, as assessed by the Ages and Stages. Questionnaire (ASQ-3) at 8 to 10 months old.

  • Findings indicate that parental prenatal anxiety and emotional experiences from the pandemic should be assessed when evaluating child developmental delays.

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Fig. 1: Mean standardized scores are presented for each of the ASQ-3 subscales.

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Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Finneas G.T. Wong and Emily Zhang for the initial set up and data collection of this project.

Funding

This research was supported by Family Health and Resiliency Fund and the Weinberg and Barton Families.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Brigham and Women’s Hospital, 221 Longwood Ave., BLI 341, Boston, MA, 02115, USA

    Cindy H. Liu, Candice Ma & Carmina Erdei

  2. Brigham and Women’s Hospital, 75 Francis St., Boston, MA, 02115, USA

    Cindy H. Liu, Amanda Koire & Leena Mittal

  3. Harvard Medical School, 25 Shattuck St., Boston, MA, 02115, USA

    Cindy H. Liu, Amanda Koire, Leena Mittal, Joshua L. Roffman & Carmina Erdei

  4. Massachusetts General Hospital, 55 Fruit St., Boston, MA, 02114, USA

    Joshua L. Roffman

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Contributions

CL, AK, CE provided substantial contributions to conception and design, acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data. CL, AK, CM, LM, JR, and CE drafted the article or revised it critically for important intellectual content. CL provided final approval of the version to be published.

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Correspondence to Cindy H. Liu.

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Liu, C.H., Koire, A., Ma, C. et al. Prenatal mental health and emotional experiences during the pandemic: associations with infant neurodevelopment screening results. Pediatr Res 96, 237–244 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41390-024-03100-y

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