Abstract
Background
Studies have shown that infant temperament varies with maternal psychosocial factors, in utero illness, and environmental stressors. We predicted that the pandemic would shape infant temperament through maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy and/or maternal postnatal stress. To test this, we examined associations among infant temperament, maternal prenatal SARS-CoV-2 infection, maternal postnatal stress, and postnatal COVID-related life disruptions.
Methods
We tested 63 mother–infant dyads with prenatal maternal SARS-CoV-2 infections and a comparable group of 110 dyads without infections. To assess postnatal maternal stress, mothers completed the Perceived Stress Scale 4 months postpartum and an evaluation of COVID-related stress and life disruptions 6 months postpartum. Mothers reported on infant temperament when infants were 6-months-old using the Infant Behavior Questionnaire-Revised (IBQ-R) Very Short Form.
Results
Maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy was not associated with infant temperament or maternal postnatal stress. Mothers with higher self-reported postnatal stress rated their infants lower on the Positive Affectivity/Surgency and Orienting/Regulation IBQ-R subscales. Mothers who reported greater COVID-related life disruptions rated their infants higher on the Negative Emotionality IBQ-R subscale.
Conclusions
Despite no effect of prenatal maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection, stress and life disruptions incurred by the COVID-19 pandemic were associated with infant temperament at 6-months.
Impact
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SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy is not associated with postnatal ratings of COVID-related life disruptions, maternal stress, or infant temperament.
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Postnatal ratings of maternal stress during the COVID-19 pandemic are associated with normative variation in maternal report of infant temperament at 6 months of age.
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Higher postnatal ratings of maternal stress are associated with lower scores on infant Positive Affectivity/Surgency and Orienting/Regulation at 6 months of age.
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Higher postnatal ratings of COVID-related life disruptions are associated with higher scores on infant Negative Emotionality at 6 months of age.
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Data availability
The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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Funding
This work is supported by R01MH126531 to D.D., C.M., and R.M. and NSF-2051819 to D.A. This work was also in part funded by gift funds from Einhorn Collaborative to the Nurture Science Program at Columbia University Irving Medical Center.
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Substantial contributions to conception and design, acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data: C.B., A.S., M.H.K., B.B., J.B., M.B., L.C., A.F., M.R.F., S.G., A.H., V.H., M.H., S.H., M.L., R.M., I.M., M.M., D.O., N.P., C.R., L.C.S., N.T., M.G.W., W.F., C.M., D.D., D.A. Drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content: C.B., A.S., D.D., D.A. Approval of the version to be published: C.B., A.S., M.H.K., B.B., J.B., M.B., L.C., A.F., M.R.F., S.G., A.H., V.H., M.H., S.H., M.L., R.M., I.M., M.M., D.O., N.P., C.R., L.C.S., N.T., M.G.W., W.F., C.M., D.D., D.A.
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Bianco, C., Sania, A., Kyle, M.H. et al. Pandemic beyond the virus: maternal COVID-related postnatal stress is associated with infant temperament. Pediatr Res 93, 253–259 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41390-022-02071-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41390-022-02071-2
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