Maternal prenatal social contact during the COVID-19 pandemic predicts infant birth weight

Background: Social connectedness and mental health have been associated with infant birth weight, and both were compromised by the COVID-19 pandemic. Aims: We sought to examine whether changes in maternal prenatal social contact due to the COVID-19 pandemic were associated with infant birth weight and if maternal prenatal mental health mediated this association. Study design: A longitudinal study of mothers and their infants born during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Subjects: The sample consisted of 282 United States-based mother-infant dyads. Outcome measures: Depressive symptoms were measured with the Beck Depression Inventory-II, anxiety was measured with the State Anxiety Inventory, and stress was measured using the Perceived Stress Scale 14. We also asked participants about pandemic-related changes in social contact across various domains. Adjusted birth weight was calculated from birth records or participant-report when birth records were unavailable. Results: Decreases in social contact during the pandemic were associated with lower adjusted infant birth weight (B = 76.82, SE = 35.82, p = .035). This association was mediated by maternal prenatal depressive symptoms [Effect = 15.06, 95 % CI (0.19, 35.58)] but not by prenatal anxiety [95 % CI (-0.02, 32.38)] or stress [95 % CI (-0.31, 26.19)]. Conclusion: These findings highlight concerns for both mothers and infants in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, since birth weight can have long-term health implications and the social restructuring occasioned by the pandemic may lead to lasting changes in social behavior.