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

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. Women who were pregnant during the pandemic were more likely to report distress, which included stress, anxiety, and depression. These symptoms were then linked to babies being born with reduced cerebral white matter....