Collaborative ECHO research led by Marie Camerota, PhD of the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, investigates the link between newborns’ behavior patterns with their mothers’ demographic characteristics and health during pregnancy. The study looked at over 1,000 newborns and their mothers from across the U.S., and found that male babies, babies from younger mothers, and babies whose mothers were depressed or used tobacco during pregnancy were the most likely to have poorly regulated behavior shortly after birth. Babies with poorly regulated behavior were identified as hyper-aroused (i.e., too excitable) or hypo-aroused (i.e., slow to respond). This research, titled “Prenatal and perinatal factors associated with neonatal neurobehavioral profiles in the ECHO Program,” is published in Pediatric Research.
Previous studies have looked at mothers’ and babies’ characteristics that are associated with babies’ behavior shortly after birth, but these studies were conducted with smaller groups of babies who were very similar to one another—for example, studies with babies who were all born full term. There is a need for studies with a large, variable sample of mothers and their newborns, including babies who were born preterm and full term.
This study included mothers and their babies, born at gestational ages from 22 to 42 weeks, from 5 ECHO cohorts. The babies received a behavioral exam shortly after birth to assess their responses to objects and people, their reflexes, and their movement. Either mothers reported information about their own and their babies’ demographics and health information or it was collected from their medical records. ECHO researchers looked at how these characteristics were related to babies’ patterns of behavior.
ECHO researchers identified six groups of babies with different behavior patterns. Four of these groups included normal patterns of behavior and only two groups were characterized as poorly regulated (hyper- or hypo-aroused). Babies born at all different gestational ages were included in all groups.
“If these patterns of behavior are found in other large studies, this might mean that the patterns apply to all babies,” said Dr. Camerota. “This information could be used to identify babies at risk for poorly regulated behavior and inform practices to promote positive developmental outcomes starting at the very beginning of life.”
More research is needed to determine which of the characteristics studied are stronger predictors of babies’ behavior patterns and development, and whether the impact of these factors changes among babies born at different gestational ages. Further research is also needed to learn more about how babies’ neurobehavior shortly after birth is related to their health and development later in childhood.
Gestational diabetes and preeclampsia may be linked to slower biological development in infants, according to a new study funded by the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes Program (ECHO) at the National Institutes of Health.
Collaborative ECHO research led by Jennifer Ames, PhD of the Kaiser Permanente Northern California Division of Research and Ghassan Hamra, PhD of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, investigates whether exposures to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) during pregnancy were associated with the development of autism-related traits in children. The researchers looked at data from 1,224 mother-child pairs and found that prenatal exposure to one specific PFAS chemical, perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), may be associated with an increase in autism-related traits in children. Prenatal exposure to the mixture of all PFAS chemicals combined was not associated with increased autism-related traits in children. This research, titled “Prenatal exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and childhood autism-related outcomes,” is published in 