Was Covid in der Schwangerschaft für eine Generation von Kindern bedeuten kann

*A growing body of research shows that exposure to Covid-19 in the womb can have a subtle but lasting impact on brain development.*

*Jason Gale for Bloomberg News*

For much of the pandemic, discussions of Covid-19 in pregnancy were dominated by a simple reassurance: Babies rarely tested positive. Doctors concluded that the virus seldom passed from mother to fetus.

That message shaped medical guidance and public perception of the risks, but it was incomplete. Early studies relied heavily on nasal swab PCR tests that focused on whether babies had an active infection at birth. But these didn’t reveal what harm might have occurred in the womb. And as the pandemic unfolded, particularly during the more virulent alpha and delta waves, cracks appeared in that early certainty. More pregnant patients became seriously ill. Stillbirth rates rose. Pathologists and pediatricians began reporting unusual placental damage and puzzling immune patterns in newborns.

When researchers started using tests more sensitive than nasal swabs on newborns, evidence mounted that many babies had been exposed to the coronavirus in utero. A growing body of research now links such exposure to changes in placental function and, in some children, a higher risk of neurodevelopmental disorders. While the absolute risks appear small, and most exposed children develop normally, the findings underscore the continued importance of vaccination and long-term monitoring of Covid’s enduring health effects. Roughly 3.4 million babies were born in the US during the first four years of the pandemic, including more than 160,000 known to have been exposed to SARS-CoV-2 in the womb.

[Read the full story here.](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-01-30/children-s-development-may-be-affected-by-covid-during-pregnancy?accessToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJzb3VyY2UiOiJTdWJzY3JpYmVyR2lmdGVkQXJ0aWNsZSIsImlhdCI6MTc2OTc2NjYwOCwiZXhwIjoxNzcwMzcxNDA4LCJhcnRpY2xlSWQiOiJUOU5NV1JLR0lGUEMwMCIsImJjb25uZWN0SWQiOiJEMzU0MUJFQjhBQUY0QkUwQkFBOUQzNkI3QjlCRjI4OCJ9.vsgo0yuJ1d5xVdT5rx4UwYosX6sziSdAh7WsJ18iP3w)