Perinatal Psychological Distress and Child Functional Brain and Behavioural Development During the COVID-19 Pandemic

During and following pregnancy, it is common for mothers to experience depression and anxiety symptoms, termed prenatal distress. Children born to mothers with prenatal distress are more likely to have learning and behavioural problems through their childhood and adolescent years. The human brain develops rapidly in the first few years of life, meaning that disruptions during these times can have noticeable impacts on child brain development. During the COVID-19 pandemic, pregnant individuals were especially distressed, though the impacts on child brain development are still unclear. I will study brain function in children whose mothers experienced prenatal distress during the COVID-19 pandemic. I will look at children across the first 3 years of life, and expect that children of mothers with more severe distress will have brain differences, and that those brain differences will lead to behaviour differences. Depression and anxiety during pregnancy were measured in 75 pregnant individuals at the Alberta Children's Hospital and BC Children's Hospital. Their children had MRI scans at 3 months, 1 year, 2 years, and 3 years of age. Parents were also asked to share information about how their child behaves in social situation, their physical movement abilities, how they solve problems, and how they communicate at 1, 2, and 3 years of age. The results of this research can help us understand how to support children who were born during the pandemic and ensure that both mothers and their children stay healthy. Through this study, we can learn how a mother's mental health can affect her child's brain and behavioural development. The findings will help researchers, healthcare professionals, and policy makers find solutions to reduce the consequences of prenatal distress on children.