Babies born during coronavirus lockdowns developed communication skills at slower rate: Study

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A new study suggests that babies born during coronavirus lockdowns are reaching developmental milestones at a slower pace than those born outside of the lockdowns.

The study, posted this week in the peer-reviewed medical journal BMJ by researchers at the Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin, Ireland, showed that babies born between March and May of 2020 struggled to communicate at one year of age, compared to babies born between 2008 and 2011.

Ireland was subjected to strict lockdown measures during significant portions of time between the springs of 2020 and 2021.

According to the study, 89% of babies born between 2008 and 2011 were able to say a "meaningful word" at 12 months of age, compared to just 77% of infants who spent their early months shut out from the outside world early in the pandemic. Additionally, the number of babies able to point at objects dropped from 93% to 84%, and those who could wave good-bye fell from 94% to 88%.

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Photo of a young mother holding her newborn baby, while putting him to sleep.  (iStock)

The study was based on questionnaire results from 309 parents of babies during the pandemic. Parents were asked about the different tasks their children could perform on their first birthday. Those results were then compared to a longitudinal study that asked about the same skills between 2008 and 2021.

"Pandemic-associated social isolation appears to have impacted on social communication skills in babies born during the pandemic compared with a historical cohort," the study said. "Babies are resilient and inquisitive by nature, and it is very likely that with societal re-emergence and increase in social circles that their social communication skills will improve. However, this cohort and others will need to be followed up to school age to ensure that this is the case."

One of the study’s authors, Dr. Susan Byrne of the Royal College of Surgeons, told NBC News that a quarter of the babies in the study had yet to meet another baby their age by their first birthday and that few people had come to their homes during the pandemic.

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A protestor carries a sign reading "We Will Not Comply" during a demonstration outside the Virginia State Capitol to protest Virginia's stay-at-home order and business closures in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)

"If no one's coming to your house to leave again, you're not going to learn how to say 'Bye, bye,’" Byrne told the outlet.

Byrne added that babies could have been negatively impacted by not engaging with stimulating objects outside of their own home, which they have already memorized.

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Fulton County Public Schools 8th-grader Ceani Williams helps her 5th-grade brother, Kareem Williams, with his classwork during a virtual learning day at their home in Milton, Georgia. (REUTERS/Alyssa Pointer)

"Children point because either something has fallen, and they want to find it, or they're interested in a new thing, and they want to see it," Byrne explained. "Obviously, if you've been in your lovely home the whole time, you know everything. Nothing's new."

The study is the latest in a long list of data showing the negative effects coronavirus lockdowns have had on the children, both in early-age development and in the classroom.

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In addition to the learning loss suffered by children during lockdowns, a recent study showed that coronavirus restrictions also negatively impacted the physical health of children and contributed to childhood obesity, especially in low-income communities.