Research Confirms No Autism Link to mRNA COVID Vaccines in Pregnancy

Extensive Research Shows No Connection to Developmental DisordersGetting an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine just before or during any stage of pregnancy does not increase the chances of autism or other developmental issues in offspring, based on findings shared at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine 2026

Extensive Research Shows No Connection to Developmental Disorders

Getting an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine just before or during any stage of pregnancy does not increase the chances of autism or other developmental issues in offspring, based on findings shared at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine 2026 Pregnancy Meeting. These results offer fresh insights into the extended well-being of youngsters whose mothers received vaccination near the time of pregnancy.

Within the United States, health authorities endorse two primary COVID-19 vaccine options: the messenger ribonucleic acid type and a protein subunit formulation. Experts view both options as appropriate across every phase of pregnancy, with recommendations aimed at protecting the health of both the expectant parent and the newborn.

Detailed Evaluation of 434 Young Children

Investigators affiliated with the Maternal-Fetal Medicine Units Network carried out this work. They examined 434 youngsters aged between eighteen months and thirty months, checking for indicators of autism spectrum conditions along with additional developmental markers. The project followed a forward-looking, multi-site observational design spanning from May 2024 through March 2025. Exactly half of the participants, totaling 217 children, had mothers who obtained at least one dose of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine either while pregnant or in the thirty days leading up to conception. The other 217 children came from mothers who avoided any mRNA vaccination during pregnancy or in that same pre-pregnancy window.

Outcomes related to neurological growth among infants delivered to mothers who had the COVID-19 vaccine during or shortly before pregnancy showed no differences compared with outcomes for infants whose mothers remained unvaccinated, according to remarks from lead investigator George R. Saade, MD, who serves as Professor and Chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology plus Associate Dean for Women's Health at Macon & Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia.

Methods Used to Assess and Match Developmental Results

To ensure the highest level of comparability, researchers matched vaccinated mothers with unvaccinated counterparts according to delivery location such as hospital or birth center, timing of birth, coverage type, and racial background. Researchers removed certain cases from consideration in both arms of the study, specifically those ending prior to thirty-seven weeks, involving twins or higher multiples, or resulting in a child born with significant structural anomalies.

Once the children reached the age range of one and a half to two and a half years, the team applied the Ages and Stages Questionnaire Version 3 to gauge progress across five key domains including communication abilities, large muscle movement skills, small muscle coordination, logical thinking capacity, and social-personal engagement. Additional instruments such as the Child Behavior Checklist, the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers, and the Early Childhood Behavior Questionnaire supplied further data on behavioral tendencies and developmental trajectories.

This investigation, performed via a stringent scientific framework inside an NIH-supported clinical trials network, yields encouraging data about the extended health trajectory of children born after maternal COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy, noted Brenna L. Hughes, MD, MSc, who holds the position of Edwin Crowell Hamblen Distinguished Professor of Reproductive Biology and Family Planning and serves as Interim Chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Duke University in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Support Sources and Important Notes

Financial backing for the project came from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. The researchers emphasized that the interpretations offered belong solely to the study team and may not align with the formal positions of the National Institutes of Health. The oral abstract numbered eight, titled Association between SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in pregnancy and child neurodevelopment at 18-30 months, is scheduled for appearance in the February 2026 edition of PREGNANCY, the peer-reviewed publication affiliated with the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine.