Penn State College of Medicine receives $3.9 million to study COVID0-19’s impact on pregnancy

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Penn State College of Medicine received $3.9 million from the Pennsylvania Department of Health to study what impact COVID-19 has on pregnancy.  

The study will also offer 20 students from Lincoln University mentorships through Penn State’s Summer Undergraduate Research Internship Program (SURIP). 

 College of Medicine investigators will collaborate with health systems in Pennsylvania through an existing clinical and informatics research consortium known as the PaTH Network. The researchers will use integrated, electronic health records and patient-reported outcomes from Penn State Health, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Geisinger Health and Temple Health to evaluate data from roughly 48,000 expectant mothers from diverse communities within the commonwealth, a Penn State College of Medicine statement said. 

The goal of this research is to further understand of how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected health outcomes among pregnant women and their children by examining COVID-19 diagnoses, exposure maternal stress, preterm birth, low birth weight and maternal and neonatal deaths. Researchers will survey a sample of 3,400 women to collect data during their pregnancies and at one, six and 12-months postpartum to gauge associations between COVID-19, psychological distress, longer term maternal health outcomes and child development, Penn State College of Medicine said. 

“The ways in which COVID-19 affects families during and after pregnancy are very complex and understudied,” said Kristin Sznajder, lead investigator and assistant professor in the Penn State College of Medicine’s Department of Public Health Sciences. “This project will provide important data on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on pregnancy including maternal health, infant development, and family well-being in Pennsylvania. Moreover, this study will examine the potentially uneven burden of the pandemic across communities characterized by race, ethnicity, neighborhood, poverty, education and maternal mental well-being.” 

This research builds upon a preliminary study in 2020, which was led by Sznajder, and funded by a grant through the Penn State Huck Institutes for Life Sciences and Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics. According to the investigators, the current study will contribute to the development of future interventions that could improve health care for mothers and their children during a pandemic. 

 An external advisory committee, representing top researchers and care providers with expertise in maternal and child health and underserved communities, will support the research team.