MIDLAND, Texas — COVID or Pandemic babies are the terms coined for babies born after the start of the pandemic in 2020.
"I even have moms say 'oh my baby's a COVID baby,' so you wonder is it," said Alyx Woodward, Nurse Practioner at Scenic Mountain Medical Center. "They are scared of the doctor, or it's because they don't have that interaction. They don't know anything other than mom and dad."
These babies are faced with challenges and obstacles that babies born prior may have not experienced.
"With the loneliness that came with the pandemic, with the stay at home orders and the lockdowns, children of all ages, even infants, weren’t getting that interaction that they needed," said Woodward.
They are interacting with fewer people everywhere.
"So, when we don’t expose these kids to playing with other kids their age or even introducing them to other adults, it’s a shock to them when they finally get thrown into that situation," said Woodward.
Even masks being worn around babies makes it harder for them to understand and read emotions.
"I feel like you can express a lot of things through your facial expressions," said Woodward. "Even if that's smiling and laughing with them. When they don't have that, they get scared. Everyone is in a mask, so they get confused maybe of who's who."
The first three years of a child's life is crucial for their development, but Woodward said parents weren't bringing their babies in for the first year visit because of COVID-19.
"A big thing is making sure you’re going to your well child visits," said Woodward. "We had a lot of parents that have come when the child is 1 year old and they haven't seen anybody, so they're here to get caught up on immunizations, but developmentally they're behind, they're not crawling properly, they're not speaking properly. That's why we have you in the first year of life so often, to catch things."
This is why health care professionals emphasize the importance of taking your baby to the doctor.
"That’s what health care providers are there for, go to your well visits," said Dr. Joseph Chavez. "Let your health care provider get used to your child, get to know your child, get to know you and go to your health care provider for any of this or any symptoms, that's what we're here for."