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. 2025 Jun 3;25(1):448.
doi: 10.1186/s12887-025-05663-z.

Growth in the first two years in children born to mothers infected with COVID-19 during pregnancy: a cohort study

Habibe Nejad Biglari  1 , Atefeh Ahmadi  1 , Katayoun Alidousti  1 , Malihe Pouredalati  2 , Forouzandeh Kalantari  3 , Effat Kargar  4 , Farzaneh Salajegheh Tezerji  5 , Sahebeh Dadshahi  6 , Parya Jangipour Afshar  7 , Hamid Sharifi  7 , Masumeh Ghazanfarpour  6 , Fatemeh Janipour  8 , Fariba Heidari  9
Affiliations

Growth in the first two years in children born to mothers infected with COVID-19 during pregnancy: a cohort study

Habibe Nejad Biglari et al. BMC Pediatr. .

Abstract

Introduction: Because the impact of COVID-19 on the growth of infants whose mothers were infected with this virus during pregnancy is unclear, this study investigated the effect of mothers' infection with this virus during pregnancy on their infant's growth during the first two years of life.

Method: In this prospective cohort study, the available information from 697 mothers referring to Iran's health care centers for pregnancy and breastfeeding care was used to compare the growth of 367 children born to mothers infected with COVID-19 during pregnancy with that of 330 children born to mothers who were not infected and not exposed to COVID-19 during pregnancy. Their growth was evaluated for two years.

Results: Concerning the weight, height, and head circumference 6 months, 12 months, and 24 months after birth, although the values obtained in the exposed group were slightly higher than the non-exposed group, no statistically significant difference was observed (P > 0.05). Comparing the exposed group's growth indices (weight, height, and head circumference) based on whether the mother was infected with COVID-19 during the first, second, or third trimester showed no significant difference (P > 0.05). The birth height of the babies whose mothers infected with COVID-19 in the first and second trimesters of pregnancy was slightly lower than those whose mothers were infected in the third trimester (P = 0.019). Children in the exposed group weighed 76.61 g more than those in the non-exposed group (P = 0.018).

Conclusion: More long-term studies in different populations about growth of children are needed to generalized the findings.

Clinical trial number: Not applicable (A cohort study).

Keywords: COVID-19; Children; Growth; Mothers; Pregnancy; The first two years.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: This is to certify that this research with Reg. No. 99000029 was approved by ethical committee of Kerman University of Medical Sciences. The Ethic Approval Code is IR.KMU.REC.1399.210. All of the women in the exposed group filled the informed consent form to participate in the study with their child. In addition, the women in the non-exposed group were called to get their permission in the study. And it was easy for participants to withdraw from the study whenever they were willing. At the request of the ethics committee, the study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and Ethics Publication on Committee (COPE). Special codes were used for each of the participants to ensure the confidentiality of information. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

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