Catching Covid-19 During Pregnancy Could Raise Autism Risk in Children, Study Finds

The harmful effects of covid-19 could span generations, according to a new study published this week. The research finds that children whose mothers contract covid-19 during pregnancy are more likely than their peers to develop autism spectrum disorder later in life.

Scientists at Mass General Brigham in Boston analyzed thousands of births in the area that occurred during the height of the covid-19 pandemic. Women who caught the infectious disease during pregnancy had a modest but noticeably higher risk of having children later diagnosed with autism and other developmental issues, they found.

Though not definitive, the findings indicate the need for more research into maternal cases of covid-19, the researchers said.

“These findings highlight the importance of long-term neurodevelopmental monitoring for SARS-CoV-2–exposed children,” they wrote in the paper, published Thursday in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology.

A dangerous exposure

Scientists already know that Covid-19 is more dangerous for pregnant women. Studies have found that expectant mothers are more likely to develop a severe infection, while their children may also face higher risk of premature birth and other complications.

In this study, the authors specifically examined whether maternal covid-19 might increase a child’s autism risk as well. Autism is a complex condition often caused by a mix of various factors, including genetics. But certain maternal infections, including fever, have also been linked to autism risk.

The researchers analyzed data from more than 18,000 women who delivered children within the Mass General Brigham health care system between March 2020 and May 2021. About 860 children were born to mothers who tested positive for covid-19 during pregnancy. And compared to children born to mothers who never tested positive, these children had significantly greater odds of being diagnosed with autism or other neurodevelopmental problems, like a delay in speech, by age three.

All told, after accounting for other factors, covid-19 exposure during pregnancy was associated with a 29% higher risk of children having a neurodevelopmental condition. This risk was more pronounced when mothers contracted covid-19 during the third trimester and among male children.

A need for prevention

The research is observational, meaning it can only show a correlation between maternal covid-19 and autism. The authors also note that the added risk associated with covid-19 is relatively small. But coupled with other evidence showing how infections can affect pregnancy and children, the researchers say expectant mothers should try to minimize their risk of exposure.

“These findings highlight that COVID-19, like many other infections in pregnancy, may pose risks not only to the mother, but to fetal brain development,” senior author Andrea Edlow, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist at Mass General Brigham, said in a statement. “They also support the importance of trying to prevent COVID-19 infection in pregnancy and are particularly relevant when public trust in vaccines—including the COVID-19 vaccine—is being eroded.”

Unfortunately, as Edlow says, trust in vaccines in America has waned—while access to covid-19 shots, in particular, has become more complicated.

Earlier this year, U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. revoked the CDC’s recommendation that healthy pregnant women obtain a covid-19 vaccine. Independent expert groups, such as the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, nonetheless continue to recommend maternal vaccination against covid-19 and other common infections, like the flu and RSV.

Kennedy and others in the Trump administration have engaged in something of a wild goose chase in their pursuit of causes of autism. Most notably in September, the administration claimed to have found a clear link between acetaminophen use during pregnancy and autism—a tie that many autism researchers have criticized as supported by weak evidence at best. And both RFK Jr. and U.S. President Donald Trump have repeatedly endorsed the debunked theory that vaccines may cause autism.

While covid-19 is thankfully no longer the threat it once was, it still exists. More research is needed to tease out what link there may be between contracting the virus and autism—a key symptom of covid-19, high fever, is in pregnancy a known autism risk factor, for example—but the new results suggest following the advice to get the vaccine, if nothing else.