The COVID in the Context of Pregnancy, Infancy and Parenting (CoCoPIP) Study: protocol for a longitudinal study of parental mental health, social interactions, physical growth, and cognitive development of infants during the pandemic
Authors: Aydin Ezra , Weiss Staci M. , Glasgow Kevin A. , Barlow Jane , Austin Topun , Johnson Mark H. , Lloyd-Fox Sarah 
Published: May 2021

Introduction

While the secondary impact of the COVID pandemic on the psychological wellbeing of pregnant women and parents has become apparent over the past year, the impact of these changes on early social interactions, physical growth and cognitive development of their infants is unknown, as is the way in which a range of COVID related changes have mediated this impact. This study (CoCoPIP) will investigate: i) how parent’s experiences of the social, medical, and financial changes during the pandemic have impacted pre and postnatal parental mental health and parent-infant social interaction; and (ii) the extent to which these COVID-related changes in parental pre and postnatal mental health and social interaction are associated with fetal and infant development.

Methods and analysis

The CoCoPIP study is a national online survey initiated in July 2020. This ongoing study (n = 1700 families currently enrolled as of 6th May 2021) involves both quantitative and qualitative data being collected across pregnancy and infancy. It is designed to identify the longitudinal impact of the pandemic from pregnancy to two years of age, with the aim of identifying if stress-associated moderators (i.e., loss of income, COVID-19 illness, access to ante/postnatal support) impact parental mental health, and in turn, infant development. In addition, we aim to document individual differences in social and cognitive development in toddlers who were born during restrictions intended to mitigate COVID-19 spread (e.g., social distancing, national lockdowns).

Ethics and dissemination

Ethical approval was given by the University of Cambridge, Psychology Research Ethics Committee (PREC) (PRE.2020.077). Findings will be made available via community engagement, public forums (e.g., social media,) and to national (e.g., NHS England) and local (Cambridge Universities Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust) healthcare partners. Results will be submitted for publication in peer-reviews journals.

Strengths and Limitations of this study

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This is a new cohort of families being followed from prenatal to postnatal (up to 18 months) during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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The study involves the collection of quantifiable data to identify the short- and long-term influences of the pandemic on key aspects of infant development.

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The study also has a range of open-ended questions for qualitative analysis aimed at exploring familial experiences in more detail.

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The data is being collected online and is therefore limited to self- and parent-report measures, with no direct assessment of child development and parental mental health.

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Although the sample of families being recruited are diverse in their indices of multiple deprivation (IMD) and geographic location, they may not be fully representative of the wider population.