Our research has found that most pandemic-born children have been remarkably resilient to the disruptions caused by COVID.

Early brain development lays the foundation for lifelong health and success. But disruptions to a child’s early environment can leave a long-lasting imprint on their development and success.

For example, research shows that babies who are born during disasters or pandemics are at an elevated risk of experiencing developmental delays and having poor mental health and brain development into adulthood.

We also know from studies of prenatal stress that when a mother is stressed, the stress signals her body releases can cross the placenta and affect fetal development. Postnatal stress can also affect a parent’s ability to provide sensitive and attentive care to their infants.

Exposure to stress signals in the womb can also change how the stress response system works in children. This makes them more vulnerable to later mental health and neurodevelopment difficulties.

The COVID-19 pandemic undoubtedly created massive disruptions to prenatal care and babies’ early experiences. Parents also experienced high levels of distress during the pandemic which, for many, went untreated and persisted well into the postpartum period.

Given the effects early-life stress exposure has on a child’s development, many people worried the pandemic would create a generation of children who wouldn’t achieve their potential. But the most recent evidence suggests that pandemic babies are doing better than anyone expected.