Responses to the COVID-19 pandemic appear to have had a negative impact on babies’ communication abilities. 

New research from the Harvard Medical School found no strong evidence the COVID-19 pandemic led to neurodevelopmental impairment in babies born in the past couple of years.

However, the researchers found that there may be higher rates of communication delay, according to the international meta-analysis. 

Analysing several studies including a total of over 20,000 babies born either pre or post-pandemic, the researchers say there was a higher risk of communication delay.

The Harvard study says this could be related to external factors like parental stress and a lack of social opportunities, rather than problems during pregnancy and birth.

The study showed no significant difference in most measurements of neurodevelopmental impairment, regardless of whether the mother had COVID-19. 

The full report is accessible here.