ArticleArchives of disease in childhood2023
Social communication skill attainment in babies born during the COVID-19 pandemic: a birth cohort study.
Article in Archives of disease in childhood, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 44 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Early Child Development: A Systematic Review & Meta-Analysis.Journal of developmental and behavioral pediatrics : JDBPPooled it
- Developmental outcomes in 4-year-old children born in the first COVID-19 lockdown in England: preliminary findings from the Born In COVID Year - Core Lockdown Effects (BICYCLE) study.Archives of disease in childhood · 2026Observational
- The Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on School Readiness and Mental Health Concerns: A Prospective Cohort Pilot Study.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Impact of Pandemic-Related Social Restrictions on Language and Speech Development in Children with Cleft Lip and/or Palate at 18-24 Months.The Cleft palate-craniofacial journal : official publication of the American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association · 2026Article
- Disrupted beginnings: Neurodevelopmental outcomes of COVID-19 lockdowns in early childhood (Review).Experimental and therapeutic medicine · 2026Review
- Neurodevelopmental treatment needs after severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection in young children: A cohort study.The Journal of international medical research · 2026Article
- Longitudinal effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on infant and toddler development: a retrospective cohort study.BMJ paediatrics open · 2026Article
- Pandemic Babies: Developmental Outcomes in Preschool-Aged Children Born During the COVID-19 Era.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Impact of the COVID-19 era on preventative primary care for children 0-5 years old: a scoping review.BMC primary care · 2025Article
- Annual Research Review: How did COVID-19 affect young children's language environment and language development? A scoping review.Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines · 2025Article
- A comparison of referral and treatment patterns at child development institutes during the corona closures and pre-corona periods.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Unlocking the forest: An ethnographic evaluation of Forest Schools on developmental outcomes for 3-year-olds unaccustomed to woodland spaces.Wellcome open research · 2024Article
- Being an Infant in a Pandemic: Influences of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Infants, Toddlers and Their Mothers in a Clinical Population.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Cognitive and Emotional Well-Being of Preschool Children Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic.JAMA network open · 2023Article
- Developmental and behavioural outcomes at 2 years in babies born during the COVID-19 pandemic: communication concerns in a pandemic birth cohort.Archives of disease in childhood · 2023Observational
- Assessment of Neurodevelopment in Infants With and Without Exposure to Asymptomatic or Mild Maternal SARS-CoV-2 Infection During Pregnancy.JAMA network open · 2023Observational
- The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of new mothers in China: A qualitative study of mothers with infants aged 0-1 year old.Frontiers in public health · 2023Article
- Preliminary feasibility and effectiveness of a novel community language intervention for preschool children in the United Kingdom.International journal of language & communication disordersArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionThe SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic was managed with sustained mass lockdowns to prevent spread of COVID-19 infection. Babies born during the early stages of the pandemic missed the opportunity of meeting a normal social circle of people outside the family home.
methodsWe compared 10 parentally reported developmental milestones at 12-month assessment in a cohort of 309 babies born at the onset of the pandemic (CORAL cohort) and 1629 babies from a historical birth cohort (BASELINE cohort recruited between 2008 and 2011).
resultsCompared with a historical cohort, babies born into lockdown appeared to have some deficits in social communication. Fewer infants in the pandemic cohort had one definite and meaningful word (76.6% vs 89.3%), could point (83.8% vs 92.8%) or wave bye-bye (87.7% vs 94.4%) at 12-month assessment. Adjusted log-binomial regression analyses demonstrated significant differences in social communication in the CORAL cohort compared with the BASELINE cohort: one definite and meaningful word (relative risk (RR): 0.86 (95% CI: 0.80 to 0.92)), pointing (RR: 0.91 (95% CI: 0.86 to 0.96)) and waving bye-bye (RR: 0.94 (95% CI: 0.90 to 0.99)). DISCUSSION: Parentally reported developmental outcomes in a birth cohort of babies born into lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic may indicate some potential deficits in early life social communication. It must be noted that milestones are parentally reported and comparison is with a historical cohort with associated limitations. Further studies with standardised testing is required to validate these findings.
conclusionPandemic-associated social isolation may have impacted on the social communication skills in babies born during the pandemic compared with a historical cohort. Babies are resilient and inquisitive by nature, and it is hoped that with societal re-emergence and increase in social circles, their social communication skills will improve.
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