Enhancing Offspring Cognitive Health

Abstract

With the progress of modern human society, women have entered the workplace and actively participate in work. Especially for women in Asia-pacific area, they persist in working during pregnancy to support their families financially. Consequently, they experience substantial stress when it comes to both their well-being and job responsibilities throughout pregnancy. However, the relationship between pregnancy stress and cognitive impairments in offspring has not been extensively studied. The development of human fetuses and their brains requires a stable and safe environment. The stress experienced by pregnant women can affect the endocrine homeostasis system of the mother and the intrauterine environment, which in turn impacts the fetal brain and the nervous system development. This book chapter aims to explore this relationship between prenatal stress and effects on offspring cognition impairments intensively.