Maternal COVID-19 Not Associated With Child Neurological Disorders

Prenatal exposure to maternal COVID-19 was not associated with an increased risk of neurodevelopmental or neurological disorders overall in a nationwide Norwegian cohort, according to a study published in JAMA Netork Open. However, a sensitivity analysis that excluded children born after March 1, 2022, found an increased risk of developmental speech or language disorders.

Investigators linked national registries for 204,663 children born alive in Norway from March 1, 2020, through December 31, 2023. Eligible children were born after 22 completed gestational weeks and weighed more than 500g. Prenatal COVID-19 exposure was defined as a maternal positive PCR test from conception through delivery, and diagnoses were identified through the Norwegian Patient Registry.

Of the cohort, 16,325 children (8.0%) had prenatal exposure to maternal COVID-19. At the end of follow-up, their mean age was 3.6 years. Exposure was not associated with any neurodevelopmental disorder (adjusted hazard ratio [AHR], 0.97; 95% CI, 0.88-1.08) or any neurological disorder (AHR, 0.97; 95% CI, 0.88-1.07). Investigators also found no increased risk for autism, developmental speech or language disorders, developmental motor disorders, intellectual disorders, epilepsy, or sensory impairments in the main analysis.

Findings were similar across sensitivity analyses and did not vary by trimester of exposure or the dominant SARS-CoV-2 variant. In an analysis excluding children born after March 1, 2022—when routine testing was no longer recommended—prenatal exposure was associated with developmental speech or language disorders (AHR, 2.22; 95% CI, 1.44-3.41).

The authors noted that reliance on recorded positive PCR tests could have misclassified exposure, particularly after testing recommendations changed. Follow-up may also have been too short to capture diagnoses made later in childhood, and the study lacked information about COVID-19 severity. They concluded that the speech and language finding should be replicated in other populations and settings.

Source: Magnus MC, Eide HN, Burgner DP, Stephansson O, Eldevik Håberg S. Prenatal COVID-19 exposure and neurodevelopmental and neurological disorders in children. JAMA Netw Open. 2026;9(9):e2631847. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2026.31847