Pandemic's hidden impact: Distressed mothers experience altered placental development, raising concerns for offspring COVID19 Pregnancy MaternalDistress Placenta MRIStudy Pandemic MaternalHealth Prenatal SciReports
By Tarun Sai LomteMay 15 2023Reviewed by Benedette Cuffari, M.Sc. In a recent study published in the journal Scientific Reports, researchers investigate the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic on placental development.
Epidemiologic evidence suggests an association between pre-pandemic maternal stress and poor pregnancy or neonatal outcomes. Such hardships can cause preterm delivery, low birth weight, perinatal depression or anxiety, and behavioral or cognitive problems later in life. Females over 17 years of age with singleton pregnancies were recruited to participate in the study between June 2020 and April 2021. Subjects were excluded if they could not enter the MRI scanner for physical/physiological reasons or if the pregnancy was complicated by chromosomal conditions, hypertensive disorders, or diabetes.
Placental segmentations were performed and reviewed. Volume, elongation, and thickness of the placenta were characterized. Generalized estimating equations were used to examine associations between the cohorts. Three-step mediation analyses were performed to determine whether prenatal maternal distress mediated pandemic status and placental features.
Low/high GL run emphasis, short run low/high GL emphasis, and long run high GL emphasis were reduced in the pandemic cohort, whereas run length non-uniformity was elevated. Placental elongation, volume, and run length non-uniformity was positively associated with birth weight for both cohorts. Mean GL was negatively associated with birth weight in the pandemic cohort, whereas kurtosis GL was positively associated.
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