FCR is a risk factor for IUGR infants, and cerebroplacental ratio identifies those most severely affected. Intervention programs may produce benefits in early-middle childhood.

Background The existence of psychological distress (PD) during pregnancy is well established. Nevertheless, few studies have analyzed the PD and resilience of mothers and fathers during high-risk pregnancy. This study analyzes the differences between parents’ PD and resilience and the relation between them and the neurobehavioral performance of their SGA newborns. Methods This prospective study compares two groups of parents and newborns: case group (52 parents and 26 SGA fetuses) and comparison group (68 parents and 34 appropriate-for-gestational-age, AGA, fetuses). In each group, the parents were evaluated during the last trimester of pregnancy, to obtain standardized measures of depression, stress, anxiety, and resilience. At 40 ± 1 weeks corrected gestational age, psychologists evaluated the state of neonatal neuromaturity achieved. Results Multivariate analysis of variance showed, in gender comparisons, that mothers obtained higher scores than fathers for psychological distress but lower ones for resilience. Similar differences were obtained in the comparison of parents’ distress to intrauterine growth by SGA vs. AGA newborns. Mothers of SGA newborns were more distressed than the other groups. However, there were no differences between the fathers of SGA vs. AGA newborns. Regarding neurobehavioral performance, the profiles of SGA newborns reflected a lower degree of maturity than those of AGA newborns. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that high stress and low resilience among mothers partially predict low neurobehavioral performance in SGA newborns. Conclusions These findings indicate that mothers of SGA newborns may need psychological support to relieve stress and improve their resilience. Furthermore, attention should be paid to the neurobehavioral performance of their babies in case early attention is needed.

The aims of this longitudinal study are to investigate the cognitive and verbal development of discordant twins without neurological morbidity. Twenty pairs (40 infants) of discordant twins (discordance range 15-41%) were examined. A follow-up study was carried out of 11 selected pairs (22 infants), with biological and cognitive measures at birth, at 1 year, at 2 years and at 4 years. Results show that biological growth differences (weight, height and head circumference) tended to disappear after the age of 2 years. Significant differences were found in cognitive and verbal skills between the larger and smaller co-twins at all ages. When the twins were small for gestational age, and were close to very low birth weight, together with severe discordance, their cognitive and verbal scores were consistently below the range of normality. In conclusion, the differences between the larger and smaller co-twins appear to persist up to 4 years of age, with respect to cognitive and verbal skills. A possible additive effect of biological risk factors that accumulated in the severe discordances was observed, which appeared to increase the probability of smaller co-twins suffering delayed cognitive and verbal development.

(1) Background: this study is based on a model of how changes in protective factors may affect the emotional health of mothers and fathers and thus influence the development of the baby. Our research goal is to determine whether variations in perceived social support moderate levels of stress and depression during pregnancy and/or the effect of parents’ emotional health on the baby’s anthropometric parameters. (2) Methods: to achieve these aims, a longitudinal study was made of 132 couples and babies, who were evaluated at weeks 12 and 32 of gestation and at birth. Separate analyses were performed for the mothers and fathers, focused on the role of social support in moderating their levels of depression and stress during pregnancy, and the consequent impact on the baby. (3) Results: the results obtained show the moderating effects of changes in social support on maternal and paternal stress and depression. Reduced social support during pregnancy is associated with higher levels of stress and depression in both parents and with a high cephalisation index in their babies. (4) Conclusions: special attention should be paid to social support, which can have a strong impact on the evolution of emotional health during pregnancy and concomitantly on the development of the baby.

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