ECHO Study Links Maternal Health Factors With Newborn Metabolism and Child Body Mass Index

Authors: Britt Snyder, Tina Hartert, James Gern, et al.

Who sponsored this study?

The Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program, Office of the Director, National Institutes of Health supported this research.

Why was this study needed?

Few studies have looked at possible links between maternal health characteristics, including environmental stressors, and the metabolism of newborns. Metabolism refers to chemical reactions that take place within the cells to provide the body with the energy needed for growth and maintaining health. Researchers often study metabolism by measuring the blood levels of certain molecules—called metabolites—that are created during those chemical processes.

This study expanded previous findings that showed links between maternal characteristics (such as pre-pregnancy smoking, pre-pregnancy body mass index, education, occupation status, marital status, age at delivery, asthma diagnosis, diabetes during pregnancy, or type of delivery) and amounts of metabolites in newborns. The study also explored the link between these metabolites and child growth patterns. In addition, this study explores the maternal factors and potential series of chemical changes in utero (in the womb) that may contribute to the link between newborn metabolism and childhood BMI*.

*Body Mass Index (BMI) is a common health screening tool that considers both height and weight.

What were the study results?

The researchers identified links between maternal health characteristics and the concentration of various metabolites in newborns. Additionally, this study showed that some metabolites were also linked to childhood BMI at ages 1–3 years.

The study found that factors like higher BMI before pregnancy or maternal age at delivery seemed to increase the levels of key metabolites in newborns. However, other metabolites which were linked with maternal health characteristics were not associated with changes in childhood BMI.

What was the study's impact?

Previous research has shown associations between levels of some newborn metabolites and childhood growth, overweight, and obesity. This study provides additional insights on the maternal factors and potential in utero pathways connecting newborn metabolism and later metabolic dysfunction in children. Such imbalance may increase a person’s lifetime risk of coronary heart disease, diabetes, stroke, and other serious health problems.

Who was involved?

This study included 3,492 infants enrolled in three ECHO research sites with linked newborn screening metabolic data.

What happened during the study?

The researchers used data on maternal health characteristics collected from questionnaires, birth certificates, and medical records. Child BMI was obtained from medical records and study visits. The researchers used statistical tools to evaluate possible links between maternal health characteristics and newborn metabolism.

Footnote: Results reported here are for a single study. Other or future studies may provide new information or different results. You should not make changes to your health without first consulting your healthcare professional.

What happens next?

This study is an early step in assessing biological pathways through which maternal health characteristics may influence prenatal metabolic development. These metabolic changes may then influence health after birth. Future studies are needed to further explore the potential pathways through which maternal health characteristics may impact child health.

Where can I learn more?

Access the full journal article, titled “The Associations of Maternal Health Characteristics, Newborn Metabolite Concentrations, and Child Body Mass Index among US Children in the ECHO Program,” in Metabolites.

The content is the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

Published April 1, 2023

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ECHO Study Links Maternal Health Factors With Newborn Metabolism and Child Body Mass Index

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ECHO Study Links COVID-19 Stress, Slightly Earlier Births

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ECHO Study Links COVID-19 Stress, Slightly Earlier Births

Authors: Kim McKee, Sarah Comstock, et al.

Who sponsored this study?

The Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program, Office of The Director, National Institutes of Health supported this research.

Why was this study needed?

The effects of depression and stress during pregnancy and their relationship to poor birth outcomes, such as preterm birth, are well documented. This study evaluated how maternal stress during the pandemic may have contributed to newborn health outcomes.

What were the study results?

Babies born to ECHO participants who were pregnant during the pandemic had similar birth weights but were born slightly earlier compared to babies born to ECHO participants who were pregnant between 2016-2019, prior to the pandemic. The study also found levels of stress were similar for ECHO participants who were pregnant between March 2020 and May 2021 compared to those who were pregnant between 2016 and 2019. However, more participants who gave birth from March to September 2020 reported being distressed about changes to their prenatal care and delivery compared with those who delivered after September 2020.

Footnote: Results reported here are for a single study. Other or future studies may provide new information or different results. You should always consult with a qualified healthcare provider for diagnosis and for answers to your personal questions.

What was the study's impact?

While other studies have noted increased levels of depression and anxiety among pregnant individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic, these trends were not observed in pregnant ECHO participants. These results suggest that many pregnant women in the United States may have already been experiencing stress before the pandemic that didn’t significantly increase following the start of the pandemic.

Who was involved?

This study included a total of 2,983 ECHO participants from 30 U.S. states and territories who delivered a baby between January 1, 2016 and May 31, 2021.

What happened during the study?

In this study, researchers evaluated medical records and maternal reports on birth weight, gestational age at delivery, and birth weight percentiles adjusted for gestational age at delivery among participants. Researchers also used data from pregnant participants across all time periods that measured depression and perceived stress. Participants who were pregnant during the pandemic reported on stress during the pandemic using a questionnaire developed during the pandemic for use with ECHO participants.

What happens next?

The study ended in May 2021 while the pandemic continued to create stressful and confusing conditions for pregnant women and their families. Similar analyses with data from additional pandemic periods could shed light on how the pandemic continues to affect pregnancy and infant health outcomes.

Where can I learn more?

Access the full journal article, titled “Perinatal Outcomes during versus Prior to the COVID-19 Pandemic and the Role of Maternal Depression and Perceived Stress: A Report from the ECHO Program,” in The American Journal of Perinatology.

The content is the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

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ECHO Study Links COVID-19 Stress, Slightly Earlier Births

New ECHO Research Suggests Differences in Placental Development for Male and Female Infants

Posted on March 23, 2023December 5, 2023 by Jodi Snare

Collaborative ECHO research led by Catherine Bulka, PhD, of the University of South Florida, and Rebecca Fry, PhD, of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, investigates whether gene activity in the placenta might differ base on the infant’s sex. The results of this study suggest that the placentas of males and females might develop differently. This research, titled “Sex-based differences in placental DNA methylation profiles related to gestational age: an NIH ECHO meta-analysis,” is published in Epigenetics.

This study included 774 infants (355 female and 419 male) from four ECHO research sites. One of the research sites enrolled infants born at less than 28 weeks, which provided samples from the earliest viable births. Research sites used placental tissue from male and female infants to investigate associations between gestational age (the amount of time the baby spent in-utero) and modifications of placental DNA. Researchers then located the modifications and identified the closest genes, allowing them to analyze the biological significance of the modifications.

The most prominent differences were linked to genes that play significant roles in immunity, inflammation, and pregnancy complications. These differences seen between male and female infants may be important when looking at sex-specific health and developmental outcomes.

“These findings highlight the importance of considering infant sex in studies of the placenta,” said Dr. Bulka. “Doing so may help identify the origins of sex disparities in health and disease that persist throughout life.”

Researchers are now using this data to estimate an infant’s “biological” rather than “chronological” gestational age based on the modification of placental DNA, and the findings of this study suggest that it may be important to consider the infant’s sex when calculating “biological’” gestational age.

Read the research summary.

NIH Study Links Low Birthweight to Prenatal Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Exposure

Posted on March 15, 2023August 27, 2025 by Jodi Snare

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

High exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) during pregnancy may be associated with lower birthweights, according to a new study funded by Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes Program (ECHO) at the National Institutes of Health.

PFAS are widely used, long lasting chemicals, also known as “forever chemicals,” that break down slowly over time and can be found in drinking water, food, household products, personal care products, manufacturing facilities, and other sources.

“Outside of research studies, pregnant women are not tested for PFAS and are uncertain of the potential harms PFAS can cause,” said Amy Padula, PhD, MSc, an ECHO Program investigator at the University of California, San Francisco. “We need to better understand where people are most likely to be exposed to these substances given the number of sources, from drinking water to consumer products.”

This is the largest study to date to examine the role of PFAS in birth outcomes, involving more than 3,000 pregnant participants from 11 different ECHO research sites across the United States. Researchers measured PFAS levels in pregnant participants’ blood samples and found that the risk of giving birth to a baby of low birthweight increases with higher levels of these chemicals.

Dr. Padula and Tracey Woodruff, PhD, MPH, ECHO Program investigators at the University of California, San Francisco led this collaborative research published in Environmental Health Perspectives.

Padula, A. et al. Birth Outcomes in Relation to Prenatal Exposure to Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances and Stress in the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program. Environmental Health Perspectives. DOI: 10.1289/EHP10723

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About ECHO: ECHO is a nationwide research program supported by the NIH. Launched in 2016, ECHO aims to enhance the health of children for generations to come. ECHO investigators study the effects of a broad range of early environmental influences on child health and development. For more information, visit echochildren.org.

About the NIH: NIH, the nation’s medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information, visit www.nih.gov.

Media Contacts

For information or to request an interview, contact Rebekah Yeager, rebekah.yeager@nih.gov.

If you are not a member of the media, but have a general inquiry, please contact NIHKidsandEnvironment@od.nih.gov.

Connect With Us

Check out the recent issues of our bi-monthly newsletter, the ECHO Connector, for program news and the latest research findings.

To receive the ECHO Connector through email, subscribe here.

Follow @ECHOChildHealth for the latest ECHO Program updates on Twitter.

ECHO Study Suggests Exposure to PFAS During Pregnancy May Be Linked to Lower Birthweights

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ECHO Study Suggests Exposure to PFAS During Pregnancy May Be Linked to Lower Birthweights

Authors: Amy Padula, Tracey Woodruff, et al.

Who sponsored this study?

This research was supported by the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) program, the Office of the Director, and the National Institutes of Health.

Footnote: The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

What were the study results?

PFAS were found in almost all participants in the study. Researchers also found that in this study, participants with higher levels of PFAS exposure were more likely to have babies born with lower birthweight. These results did not find that stress played a role in the relationship between PFAS exposure and birthweight.

Footnote: Results reported here are for a single study. Other or future studies may provide new information or different results. You should not make changes to your health without first consulting your healthcare professional.

What was this study's impact?

The results of this study suggest that PFAS exposure during pregnancy is associated with lower birthweight in infants. However, outside of research studies, pregnant women are not usually tested for PFAS and are often unaware of their potential harms despite PFAS exposure from the environment being common. Therefore, it is important to address efforts to reduce and prevent further exposure to PFAS. Researchers need to better understand where people are most likely to be exposed to these chemicals given the wide range of exposure sources, from PFAS contamination in water to PFAS used in certain consumer products.

Why was this study needed?

It is important to know what the effects of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) exposures may be on child and maternal health. This study is the largest of its kind and includes participants from across the US to help inform future research related to potential effects of PFAS exposures.

Who was involved?

This study included eleven ECHO pregnancy cohorts with a total of 3,339 participants from several states.

What happened during the study?

The researchers measured the concentration of PFAS, chemicals used in a wide range of consumer products, in the blood of pregnant women. They also surveyed these women about their stress levels throughout pregnancy. These measurements occurred over the past 20 years. The researchers then compared the birthweight for babies resulting from these pregnancies and recorded any instances of preterm birth.

What happens next?

The next step for researchers is to examine potential sources of PFAS exposures, including exposures from drinking water and consumer products. Future studies within ECHO may also examine how body mass index and preexisting conditions, such as diabetes during pregnancy or high blood pressure, may interact with PFAS exposures and contribute to the effects of PFAS on infant birthweight. Future studies may also examine additional chemicals that could contribute to lower birthweight in infants.

Where can I learn more?

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) created a Roadmap to protect people and communities from PFAS contamination.

Access the full journal article, titled “Birth Outcomes in Relation to Prenatal Exposure to Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances and Stress in the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program” in Environmental Health Perspectives.

The content is the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

Published March 15, 2023

Access the associated article.

Download this summary

ECHO Study Suggests Exposure to PFAS During Pregnancy May Be Linked to Lower Birthweights

ECHO Researchers Investigate the Effect of Prenatal PFAS Exposure on Birthweight

Posted on March 15, 2023April 2, 2025 by Jodi Snare

In a study investigating how per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) exposures affected pregnant mothers and their babies, ECHO researchers Amy Padula, PhD, MSc, and Tracey Woodruff, PhD, MPH, from the University of California, San Francisco found that higher levels of prenatal exposure to PFAS are associated with lower birthweights. The PFAS were detected in all participating mothers, suggesting some level of PFAS exposure from the environment. PFAS are widely used, long lasting chemicals that break down very slowly over time and are found in drinking water, food, household products, personal care products, manufacturing facilities, and other sources.

This research, titled “Birth Outcomes in Relation to Prenatal Exposure to Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances and Stress in the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program,” is published in Environmental Health Perspectives.

For this study, the researchers collected blood samples and pregnancy data from more than 3,000 pregnant women in 11 different ECHO cohorts. They then measured PFAS levels in the mothers’ blood samples and asked them about their stress levels during pregnancy. The team found that mothers who had higher levels of PFAS chemicals in their bodies were more likely to give birth to a baby of low birth weight than mothers with lower levels of PFAS. Additionally, previous studies have found that psychosocial stress may affect PFAS exposures and birthweight. However, the team did not find that stress played a role in the relationships between low birthweight and PFAS exposure.

This research suggests that PFAS exposures during pregnancy can affect infant birth weight, demonstrating the importance of efforts to reduce sources of environmental PFAS exposure. “Outside of research studies, pregnant women are not tested for PFAS and are uncertain of the potential harms PFAS cause,” said Dr. Padula. “We need to better understand where people are most likely to be exposed to these substances given the number of sources, from drinking water to consumer products.”

The next steps for this research include examining potential sources of PFAS exposure. Additional studies may examine how factors like body mass index and other health conditions in pregnancy might additionally affect the relationship between PFAS exposure and infant birthweight.

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has created a Roadmap to address PFAS as part of the Biden Administration plan to accelerate efforts to better protect Americans from PFAS exposure.

Read the research summary.

The Influence of Opioid Use Disorder Medications During Pregnancy on the Severity of Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome

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The Influence of Mediators on the Relationship Between Antenatal Opioid Agonist Exposure and the Severity of Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome

Author(s): Lori A. Devlin, Zhuopei Hu, Songthip Ounpraseuth, Alan E. Simon, Robert D. Annett, Abhik Das, Janell F. Fuller, Rosemary D. Higgins, Stephanie L. Merhar, P. Brian Smith, Margaret M. Crawford, Lesley E. Cottrell, Adam J. Czynski, Sarah Newman, David A. Paul, Pablo J. Sánchez, Erin O. Semmens, M. Cody Smith, Bonny L. Whalen, Jessica N. Snowden, Leslie W. Young

Why was this study conducted?

Opioid use disorder is a treatable disease that can be managed with medicine for opioid use disorder (MOUD). This type of treatment is recommended for pregnant individuals by healthcare professionals to improve pregnancy and newborn outcomes.

Babies who were exposed to opioids during pregnancy may develop signs of neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome (NOWS), including tremors; excessive crying and irritability; and problems with sleeping and feeding. This study looked at how MOUD use during pregnancy influenced the severity of NOWS symptoms.

What was done?

Data were collected from the medical records’ of 1294 opioid-exposed infants born at or cared for in 30 U.S. hospitals between July 2016 and June 2017. There were 859 infants exposed to MOUD (methadone or buprenorphine) and 435 infants exposed to opioids other than MOUD. We looked to see if infants needed medication to treat NOWS and how long they stayed in the hospital.

What was found?

The results suggest that exposure to MOUD (buprenorphine or methadone) during pregnancy increased the severity of NOWS. Infants exposed to MOUD were two times more likely to need an opioid medication to treat withdrawal. They also remained in the hospital 1.7 days longer than infants not exposed to MOUD. Some factors that reduced the severity of NOWS in infants treated with MOUD were adequate prenatal care, exposure to a single type of opioid, and not being exposed to other mood-changing drugs simultaneously. These factors also decreased the likelihood that infant would need opioid medicine to treat their NOWS symptoms and shortened their hospital stay. Infants exposed to buprenorphine instead of methadone had a shorter length of hospital stay and needed less treatment with opioid medication.

What do the results mean?

Medical experts recommend that pregnant women with an opioid use disorder use MOUD for healthier pregnancies. MOUD can reduce the chances of pregnancy loss, premature birth, infection, and poor growth of the infant. However, using MOUD may be related to increases in the severity of NOWS. Learning more about how MOUD affects the severity of NOWS can help doctors improve the health of mothers using MOUD and their babies. These results also suggest that adequate prenatal care can help improve pregnancy and birth outcomes, and highlight the importance of identifying barriers to receiving sufficient prenatal care as an opportunity to improve infant outcomes.

Who sponsored the study?

This research was supported by the Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes Program, the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, and the National Institutes of Health.

Appreciation:

We deeply appreciate the doctors, nurses, and hospitals that participated in the study and helped identify and extract information from the required medical records. Their enthusiastic collaboration made this study possible.

You may learn more about this publication here: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10995-022-03521-3

The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

Published: March 11, 2023

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The Influence of Mediators on the Relationship Between Antenatal Opioid Agonist Exposure and the Severity of Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome

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Understanding characteristics associated with opioid use during pregnancy

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Phenobarbital and Clonidine as Secondary Medications for Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome

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Site-Level Variation in the Characteristics and Care of Infants with Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal

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ECHO Researchers Demonstrate Reliability of Room-Temperature, Methanol-Preserved Placental Samples for Measuring Metabolism

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ECHO Researchers Demonstrate Reliability of Room-Temperature, Methanol-Preserved Placental Samples for Measuring Metabolism

Authors: Jennifer Straughen, et al.

Who sponsored this study?

This research was supported by the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) program, Office of The Director, National Institutes of Health.

What were the study results?

The results show that metabolic data with similar quality can be obtained from placental tissue samples preserved in methanol at room temperature than from flash-frozen samples—though a greater number of metabolites were typically detected in the methanol-fixed samples and the methanol extract.

Footnote: Results reported here are for a single study. Other or future studies may provide new information or different results. You should not make changes to your health without first consulting your healthcare professional.

What was the study's impact?

The results of this study show that placental tissue preservation in methanol at room temperature may be a suitable alternative method for analysis of placental metabolism. This method is more feasible and cost-effective than flash freezing, especially in community-based hospitals. As such, this study may make it easier for researchers to study the function of placentas and their potential relation to health outcomes.

Why was the study needed?

The placenta is an organ that provides nourishment to a developing fetus before it is born. Understanding metabolism within the placenta—the production and breakdown of molecules that provides energy to the placenta—might help researchers learn more about its function during pregnancy. To date, methods to collect placental samples to measure metabolism are expensive and require specialized equipment. In this study, researchers compared data from placental samples collected at room temperature to samples collected by flash-freezing, the standard method.

Who was involved?

The researchers collected placental samples from mothers within 15 minutes after delivery of the placenta at Henry Ford Health in Detroit, Michigan. All samples were anonymous.

What happened during the study?

The researchers collected pea-sized pieces of placenta tissue using the flash-freezing method and the test method (fixed in a solution of methanol at room temperature) and compared the resulting metabolism data.

What happens next?

More work is needed to describe the placental metabolic data revealed during this study and compare it to data from previous studies. Researchers will also need to repeat this study with a larger number of placentas to confirm the findings.

Where can I learn more?

Access the full journal article titled “Comparison of methanol fixation versus cryopreservation of the placenta for metabolomics analysis” published in Scientific Reports.

The content is the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

Published March 11, 2023

Access the associated article.

Download this summary

ECHO Researchers Demonstrate Reliability of Room-Temperature, Methanol-Preserved Placental Samples for Measuring Metabolism

NIH Study Investigates Link Between Mental Health and Pregnancy During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Posted on March 8, 2023August 27, 2025 by Jodi Snare

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Being pregnant during the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with higher levels of stress and depression symptoms, according to a new study funded by the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes Program (ECHO) at the National Institutes of Health.

Pregnant women who reported receiving more emotional support and engaging in more physical activity before and during the pandemic had lower stress and fewer symptoms of depression. The results also showed that the duration of pregnancies during the pandemic were slightly shorter on average, but there was no impact on infant birth weight.

“Providing access to emotional support and mental health care during pregnancy and encouraging more physical activity may help to improve maternal health,” said Alison Hipwell, PhD, ClinPsyD, an ECHO Program investigator at the University of Pittsburgh. “More research is needed to understand how social support and physical activity may protect pregnant women during stressful times.”

This study included 501 pregnant women who gave birth during the COVID-19 pandemic between March 12, 2020 and May 30, 2021 and 501 pregnant women who gave birth prior to March 11, 2020. Participants were 31 years old on average and enrolled in one of 16 ECHO research sites across the United States.

Irene Tung, PhD, of California State University Dominguez Hills, and Dr. Hipwell led this collaborative ECHO research published in Psychological Medicine.

Hipwell, A. E., et al. Impact of Sedentary Behavior and Emotional Support on Prenatal Psychological Distress and Birth Outcomes During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Psychological Medicine. DOI: 10.1017/S0033291723000314

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About ECHO: ECHO is a nationwide research program supported by the NIH. Launched in 2016, ECHO aims to enhance the health of children for generations to come. ECHO investigators study the effects of a broad range of early environmental influences on child health and development. For more information, visit echochildren.org.

About the NIH: NIH, the nation’s medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information, visit www.nih.gov.

Media Contacts

For information or to request an interview, contact Rebekah Yeager, rebekah.yeager@nih.gov.

If you are not a member of the media, but have a general inquiry, please contact NIHKidsandEnvironment@od.nih.gov.

Connect With Us

Check out the recent issues of our bi-monthly newsletter, the ECHO Connector, for program news and the latest research findings.

To receive the ECHO Connector through email, subscribe here.

Follow @ECHOChildHealth for the latest ECHO Program updates on Twitter.

ECHO Researchers Investigate Link Between Mental Health and Pregnancy During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Posted on March 8, 2023April 2, 2025 by Jodi Snare

Collaborative ECHO research led by Alison Hipwell, PhD, ClinPsyD, of the University of Pittsburg, and Irene Tung, PhD, of California State University Dominguez Hills, found that being pregnant during the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with higher levels of stress and depression symptoms. The researchers found that participants who reported more emotional support and engaged in physical activity before and during the pandemic had less stress and fewer symptoms of depression. The results also showed that pregnancies during the pandemic were slightly shorter on average but there was no impact on infant birth weight. This study highlights the importance of providing access to emotional support and mental health care during pregnancy and identifying ways to promote physical activity to help improve maternal health and well-being, regardless of external conditions like the pandemic. This research, titled “Impact of Sedentary Behavior and Emotional Support on Prenatal Psychological Distress and Birth Outcomes During the COVID-19 Pandemic,” is published in Psychological Medicine.

The study included 501 pregnant participants who gave birth during the COVID-19 pandemic (between March 12, 2020 and May 30, 2021) and 501 pregnant participants who gave birth before the pandemic (prior to March 11, 2020). Participants were 31 years old on average and enrolled in one of 16 ECHO research sites across the United States. Participants answered questions about their experiences with stress and depression, reported on their physical activity and described the emotional support they received during pregnancy. The researchers also collected information on participants’ birth outcomes from medical records and maternal reports.

“More research is needed to understand how social support and physical activity may protect pregnant women during difficult times,” said Alison Hipwell, PhD, ClinPsyD, of the University of Pittsburgh. “Future research may look at what types of experiences during the pandemic had the most influence on pregnancy health and well-being.”

Read the research summary.