COVID-19 BABIES: GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT

Studies have shown that some of the children born during the covid-19 pandemic are likely to have delayed development milestones.
A Facebook post by an influencer called Mamake Bobo recently gained traction as over 200 Kenyan mothers shared their frustrations regarding glaring delayed milestones for their children aged averagely 2-3 years.
A study published by the scientific journal BMJ Archives of Diseases in Childhood shows that the lockdown seemingly locked out children from blooming as they should.
“Stringent lockdown, used to control the Covid-19 pandemic, has led to babies and their families spending more time at home than babies from previous years. Fewer babies from the Covid birth cohort had achieved one definite and meaningful word, the ability to point and the ability to wave bye-bye compared with babies from a comparable historical cohort,” said the study.
The researchers explained that having social engagement plays a big part in a baby’s social communication.
“Because of lockdown measures, it is likely that Covid-19 era babies heard a narrower repertoire of language and saw fewer unmasked faces speaking to them. As babies spent most time during the lockdown in their familiar neighborhoods, they were less likely to encounter new items of interest, which might prompt pointing,” outlined the study.
Another study published by the journal JAMA Pediatrics early last year shows that babies born to women who were in their first trimester on the onset of the pandemic had the lowest scores in gross motor and fine motor skills.
Gross motor refers to muscle movements like crawling, walking, running and sitting as stated by The Frontiers of Psychology journal. Fine motor on the other hand is when a child learns to grasp objects and hold a pen to draw.
Researchers explain that both gross and fine motor skills play a part in a child’s foster language development from a tender age.
Faith Kamula, a physiotherapist at Stellar physio Health and Wellness Centre, noted that a number of children born during and post-pandemic have recorded a number of developmental delays, which sounds the alarm bell since a fraction of them seem to be taking a lot of time in achieving the main motor function skills such as social smile, growth of the first tooth, rolling over, sitting without support, standing and walking while holding on to furniture and even delayed speech.
“If a child is not able to speak or utter words at the age of two years, the parents should be concerned and seek help. Tongue ties should be ruled out before diagnosing them with delayed speech. Girls are, however, known to speak way earlier than boys at the age of nine months compared to one year or so for boys,” she said.
Parents and guardians to those children are advised to monitor their kids closely and seek immediate medical assistance in case of any suspected cases.

Harriet Sese