Effects of Contact Restrictions During the COVID-19 Pandemic on Newborns and Their Parents

In the study, the researchers aim to investigate the impact of contact restrictions during the pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) on newborns and their parents. At the onset of this COVID-19 pandemic, contact restrictions in Germany were introduced on March 16th, 2020. These included, among others, the ban on visits to hospitals. This also applied to visits by fathers of newborn children. In many hospitals, fathers were allowed to accompany the mother in the delivery room for birth, but had to leave the hospital before the mother was being transferred to the ward. Fathers were not allowed to visit their wives and newborns until discharge several days later. The hypothesis of this study is that these contact restrictions have an influence on mother-infant interaction as well as on the psychological well-being of the parents. Furthermore, the investigators postulate that these restrictions additionally have a long-term effect on neonatal stress signaling pathways. For this purpose, children are studied, who were born during the period of strict contact restrictions from March, 16th to April, 30th, 2020. The children will be assessed at about six months of age.