Experts slam ‘alarmist’ study that claims mothers who were stress out during the Covid pandemic had ‘stunted’ babies with smaller brains [Video]

11:22 EDT 20 Jun 2024, updated 11:25 EDT 20 Jun 2024

Pregnant women who were stressed out during the Covid pandemic gave birth to babies with smaller brains, according to the results of a study that has been immediately slammed as ‘alarmist’ by British experts.

Scientists from the Children’s National Hospital in Washington DC, claimed their research, involving 150 mother and baby pairs, found significant reductions in the brain size of infants born to mothers who scored high stress scores in the pandemic. 

This included reductions in the cerebral white matter, an interior part of the brain responsible for processing information, the hippocampal area, which governs learning, and the amygdala, areas which govern emotion. 

Authors of the study claimed this ‘stunted growth’ could lead to an increased chance of babies suffering from problems like anxiety later in life. 

However, British specialists have poured cold water on the conclusion, saying it was ‘not supported by the data’.