Maternal Mental Health in Pregnancy and Its Impact on Children’s Cognitive Development at 18 Months, during the COVID-19 Pandemic (CONCEPTION Study)

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected the mental health of pregnant persons. Objective: We aimed to evaluate the impact of maternal mental health and antidepressant use on children’s cognitive development. Methods: We followed a cohort of children born during the COVID-19 pandemic. Maternal mental health was self-reported during pregnancy (Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, General Anxiety Disorder-7, stress levels, and antidepressant use). The child’s cognitive development was measured using the third edition of the Ages & Stages Questionnaires® (ASQ-3) at 18 months. Multivariate multinomial logistic regression models were built to assess the association between in utero exposure to maternal mental health and ASQ-3 domains: communication, gross motor, fine motor, problem-solving, and personal–social. Results: Overall, 472 children were included in our analyses. After adjusting for potential confounders, a need for further assessment in communication (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 12.2, 95% confidence interval (CI) (1.60;92.4)), and for improvement in gross motricity (aOR 6.33, 95%CI (2.06;19.4)) were associated with in utero anxiety. The need for improvement in fine motricity (aOR 4.11, 95%CI (1.00; 16.90)) was associated with antidepressant exposure. In utero depression was associated with a decrease in the need for improvement in problem solving (aOR 0.48, 95%CI (0.24; 0.98)). Conclusions: During the COVID-19 pandemic, maternal mental health appears to be associated with some aspects of children’s cognitive development.

Keywords

• COVID-19 pandemic
• prenatal mental health
• in utero exposure
• pregnancy
• child development
• 18 months of age