Accelerated Longitudinal Weight Gain Among Infants With In Utero COVID-19 Exposure.

CONTEXT: Since the initial outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a novel population of children with in utero exposure to maternal infection has emerged whose health outcomes are largely unknown. OBJECTIVE: To compare longitudinal growth trajectories among infants with vs without in utero COVID-19 exposure. METHODS: We conducted a longitudinal cohort study leveraging a prospectively enrolled perinatal biorepository among 149 infants with in utero COVID-19 exposure and 127 unexposed controls. Weight, length, and body mass index (BMI) were abstracted from health records at 0, 2, 6, and 12 months and standardized using World Health Organization growth charts. Analyses were adjusted for maternal age, ethnicity, parity, insurance, and BMI as well as infant sex, birthdate, and breastfeeding. RESULTS: Infants with in utero COVID-19 exposure vs controls exhibited differential trajectories of weight and BMI, but not length, z-score over the first year of life (study group × time interaction, P < .0001 for weight and BMI). Infants born to mothers with prenatal COVID-19 had lower BMI z-score at birth (effect size: -0.35, 95% CI -0.66 to -0.03) and greater gain in BMI z-score from birth to 12 months (effect size: 0.53, 95% CI 0.06 to 0.99). Birth weight z-score mediated a significant proportion of the relationship between COVID-19 exposure and postnatal growth (estimate ± SE, 32 ± 14%, P = .02). CONCLUSION: Infants with in utero COVID-19 exposure exhibited lower birth weight and accelerated weight gain in the first year of life, which may be harbingers of downstream cardiometabolic pathology. Further studies are needed to delineate cardiometabolic sequelae among this emerging global population.

Immune Responses to SARS-CoV-2 in Pregnancy: Implications for the Health of the Next Generation.

Widespread SARS-CoV-2 infection among pregnant individuals has led to a generation of fetuses exposed in utero, but the long-term impact of such exposure remains unknown. Although fetal infection is rare, children born to mothers with SARS-CoV-2 infection may be at increased risk for adverse neurodevelopmental and cardiometabolic outcomes. Fetal programming effects are likely to be mediated at least in part by maternal immune activation. In this review, we discuss recent evidence regarding the effects of prenatal SARS-CoV-2 infection on the maternal, placental, and fetal immune response, as well as the implications for the long-term health of offspring. Extrapolating from what is known about the impact of maternal immune activation in other contexts (e.g., obesity, HIV, influenza), we review the potential for neurodevelopmental and cardiometabolic morbidity in offspring. Based on available data suggesting potential increased neurodevelopmental risk, we highlight the importance of establishing large cohorts to monitor offspring born to SARS-CoV-2-positive mothers for neurodevelopmental and cardiometabolic sequelae.