New research out of Mass General Brigham in Boston shows that children born to mothers who had COVID-19 while pregnant face an elevated risk of neurodevelopmental disorders by the time they turn three.

Maternal-Fetal Medicine specialist Dr. Andrea Edlow says unlike previous studies that found vertical transmission of viral and bacterial illness during pregnancy, their research found that COVID has a different impact on the developing fetus.

“It’s not the virus itself that is crossing the placenta or infecting the fetus or the fetal brain,” says Edlow, “that is the case with other viruses, but that’s very seldom the case with SARS-CoV-2. It has been reported, but most cases of SARS-CoV-2 don’t result in what we call vertical transmission. They do make the mother’s immune system more revve

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