If You Had a Baby in Your Family During COVID, This Info Is For You

Did you have a baby in your family during the COVID-19 lockdowns and mask mandates? If so, then you should know about a study published in the academic journal “Archives of Disease in Childhood.”

This study was released on October 11 and it revealed that COVID-19 lockdowns, mask mandates, and related social isolation adversely impacted babies’ social communications skills. 

It seems that babies were less likely than previous infants to say their first words before their first birthdays. They were also less likely to perform nonverbal communicative gestures.

The study was initiated by the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, it showed significant drops in communicative skills in babies born during the first three months of the pandemic. The study also indicated that in the 354 babies assessed at 12 months, there was a reduction in parentally reported social communication developmental milestones compared to other infants. 

Before the pandemic, 89.3% of infants could verbalize one definite and meaningful word like “mama,” or “dada” at 12 months. But only 76.6% of lockdown babies were able to do the same. The study also found that only 87.7% of lockdown babies could wave goodbye by the age of 1, but 94.4% of pre-pandemic babies were able. There was also a nine-point drop in babies’ ability to point.

Those leading the research explained that early in the pandemic with sustained lockdowns and mask-wearing, babies “missed the opportunity of meeting a normal circle of people outside the family home, including other babies and grandparents,” effectively living in social isolation.

The masking of faces had a significant impact on babies from 6 months of age because they shift their gaze from the eyes to the mouth. 

Researchers noted, “Because of lockdown measures, it is likely that COVID-19 era babies heard a narrower repertoire of language and saw fewer unmasked faces speaking to them.”

3.6 million babies were born in the U.S. in 2020.