In Utero COVID Exposure Linked to Higher Risk of Speech and Language Disorders: JAMA

A new study published in the Journal of American Medical Association showed that maternal COVID-19 infection while pregnant is not connected with an elevated risk of most neurological or brain-related problems in offspring.

Previous research indicates that children exposed to COVID-19 during pregnancy may have a higher risk of neurodevelopmental problems. However, these studies had short follow-up periods and focused mostly on general neurodevelopmental problems. As a result, this study determined if maternal COVID-19 exposure during pregnancy is related to an increased risk of neurodevelopmental or neurological abnormalities among children.

The period of this cohort research was November 2025–February 2026. All infants born in Norway between March 1, 2020, and December 31, 2023, with a birth weight of more than 500 g and 22 completed gestational weeks, were included in the sample. Maternal background characteristics from Statistics Norway, prenatal exposure to COVID-19 from the Norwegian Surveillance System for Communicable Diseases, birth characteristics from the Medical Birth Registry of Norway, and neurodevelopmental and neurological disorders from the Norwegian Patient Registry were among the national registries from which data were gathered. A positive PCR result for SARS-CoV-2 infection between conception (date of birth minus the gestational period in days) and the date of delivery was considered exposure to maternal COVID-19 during pregnancy.

This research comprised 204,663 children (104,728 males [51.2%]), with 16,325 (8.0%) exposed to maternal COVID-19 during pregnancy. Exposed children did not have an increased risk of any neurodevelopmental disorders, pervasive neurodevelopment disorders, developmental speech or language disorders, developmental motor disorders, intellectual disorders, any neurological disorders, epilepsy.

These findings were mainly consistent throughout sensitivity analyzes and did not differ by trimester of exposure or the prevalent circulating SARS-CoV-2 variant. The exception was an increased risk of speech or language impairments among exposed children, excluding those born after March 1, 2022 (AHR, 2.22; 95% CI, 1.44-3.41); this sensitivity analysis was done to limit misclassification due to the limited availability of SARS-CoV-2 tests.

Overall, children exposed to maternal COVID-19 prenatally had no elevated risk of neurodevelopmental abnormalities, with the exception of an increased risk of speech or language difficulties among those exposed in the early stages of the pandemic. These findings merit replication in different demographics and circumstances.

Reference:

Magnus, M. C., Eide, H. N., Burgner, D. P., Stephansson, O., & Eldevik Håberg, S. (2026). Prenatal COVID-19 exposure and neurodevelopmental and neurological disorders in children. JAMA Network Open, 9(9), e2631847. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2026.31847