The Assessment of Neurological Development of the Infants with Prenatal COVID-19 Exposure

Abstract

Objective: The effects of prenatal coronavirus 2019 disease (COVID-19) exposure on the infantile neurological development are unknown. It has been considered that the inflammatory, thrombotic, and vascular changes occurred in the placentas taken from pregnant women diagnosed with COVID-19 and the inflammatory nature of COVID-19 infection may lead to negative obstetric and neurological events. We aimed to assess the potential neurological effects of prenatal COVID-19 exposure on the infant. Methods: The present study included 2–12-month-old infants born to women with positive real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction test results for COVID-19 from the population of pregnant patients under routine follow-up. The neurological examinations and the Denver II Developmental Screening Test (DDST II) were performed for 41 infants aged 2–12 months to assess the neurological effects of prenatal COVID-19 exposure. Results: The average gestational age of the infants was 38.7 ± 1.9 weeks, and the average birth weight was 3198 ± 543 g. Eight of the infants had a history of hospitalization in the neonatal intensive care unit. The neurological examination and the neuromotor development of 40 (96%) infants were normal for their age group. Only one infant had abnormal neurological examination and DDST II result. Conclusion: The findings of the study suggest that prenatal COVID-19 exposure has no negative neurological impact on infants. Long-term prospective studies with larger sample sizes are needed for more comprehensive assessment of the neurological effects of prenatal COVID-19 exposure on the infants.