Pregnant women who catch COVID-19 more likely to have babies grow up obese

By Stephen Beech via SWNS

Pregnant women who catch COVID-19 are more likely to have babies who grow up to be obese, suggests a new study.

Children exposed in the womb to the virus have an "altered growth pattern" in early life that may increase their risk of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease later in life, say scientists.

Despite tens of millions of people being infected with COVID-19 since 2019, there is still only limited knowledge about the long-term health effects.

Moms-to-be makeup nine percent of reproductive-aged women with COVID-19, so millions of babies are expected to be exposed to the virus in the womb.

Study co-author Doctor Lindsay Fourman, of Massachusetts General Hospital, said: “Our findings suggest that children exposed in utero to maternal COVID-19 have an altered growth pattern in early life that may increase their risk of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease over time.

“There is still a lot of research needed to understand the effects of COVID-19 on pregnant women and their children.”

The researchers studied around 150 babies born to mothers who had COVID-19 during pregnancy and found they had lower birth weight followed by greater weight gain in the first year of life compared to some 130 babies whose mothers did not catch the virus.

The team said the changes have been associated with an increased risk for obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease in childhood and beyond.

Co-author Professor Andrea Edlow, also of Massachusetts General Hospital, said: “Our findings emphasize the importance of long-term follow-up of children exposed in utero to maternal COVID-19 infection, as well as the widespread implementation of COVID-19 prevention strategies among pregnant individuals."

She added: “Larger studies with longer follow-up duration are needed to confirm these associations.”

The findings were published online by The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.