# Investigating neurobehavioral consequences of  COVID-19 related stressors on maternal mental health and infant development

> **NIH NIH R01** · NEW YORK UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $715,736

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Societal consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic are unprecedented. The global community has been
crippled by a public health emergency that has had deleterious health and economic impacts, the scope of
which has yet to be determined. As a result of the current crisis, pregnant women and new mothers are
currently experiencing dramatic loss of medical, financial, and social support, resulting in higher rates of
emotional distress. It is well established that chronic stress can be embedded in the developing neurobiological
system, particularly during sensitive periods of life, but how the timing of maternal stressors and pathways
through which these experiences impact child neurobehavioral development are unclear. The central objective
of this proposal is to examine the association between perinatal COVID-19 stress and longitudinal postnatal
brain development, and to rigorously evaluate timing of exposure, underlying biological mechanisms and
postnatal protective factors. We will enroll 300 women and children from the New York City (NYC) COVID-19
Perinatal Experiences (COPE) cohort into a longitudinal protocol that will measure child biobehavioral
outcomes at 12-, 24-, and 36-months. The COPE cohort is comprised of more than 900 women that were
enrolled into a longitudinal assessment protocol at the height of the pandemic, approximately half of which
were pregnant (54%) and half of which were new mothers (46%). The primary aims of this project are to (i)
identify key windows of perinatal stress vulnerability; (ii) evaluate biological pathways that underlie associations
between maternal COVID-19 stressors and infant neurocognition; and (iii) isolate protective factors in the
postnatal environment that promote resilient outcomes in children exposed to extreme perinatal stress. We will
selectively recruit the proposed subsample for this study based on balance of timing of exposure, severity of
stressors, and sociodemographic factors. We will thus be able to meaningfully evaluate biological
consequences of perinatal stress with control over both timing and aggregate risk. Such work would constitute
a substantial advance in our understanding of the longitudinal effects of maternal perinatal stress on early
human brain development and would also offer potential avenues for promoting healthy outcomes in children
born at the height of history’s most significant perinatal stressor.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10816497
- **Project number:** 5R01MH125870-04
- **Recipient organization:** NEW YORK UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Natalie Hiromi Brito
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $715,736
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2021-06-01 → 2026-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10816497

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10816497, Investigating neurobehavioral consequences of  COVID-19 related stressors on maternal mental health and infant development (5R01MH125870-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10816497. Licensed CC0.

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