Influence of Maternal Stress during Pregnancy on Child’s Neurodevelopment

Abstract

(1) Background: High stress levels during pregnancy can affect the organogenesis and the foetus’ central nervous system maturation. The objective of this study was to determine whether a relationship between maternal stress during pregnancy and alterations in child neurodevelopment exists; (2) Methods: A bibliographical review was carried out following PRISMA Methodology and using Scopus, Web of Science and Cinahl databases. The research questions were made using PEO methodology (Participants, Exposition, Outcomes). Moreover, article quality was measured using the Quality Assessment Tool for Observational Cohort and Cross-Sectional Studies; (3) Results: 22 articles that fit the inclusion criteria were selected. Different elements altered because of maternal stress during pregnancy could side with alterations in different areas of the neurodevelopment, such as cognitive development, motor development, behaviour, temperament, memory and learning abilities; (4) Conclusions: Although maternal stress can have an influence on children’s neurodevelopment, it is still unknown which are the specific elements related to this stress that can modify it negatively. Furthermore, future studies should evaluate whether a sex-specific association exists.

The risk and protective factors of heightened prenatal anxiety and depression during the COVID-19 lockdown

“…Whether increased psychological distress is transient or persistent, and whether and how it affects the future generation remains to be determined.Pregnancy involves profound physiological and psychological changes in women 1-3 , due to the hormonal and biological changes in the body 4,5 , and due to the surrounding context 6,7 . These changes have been associated to elevated prenatal symptoms of anxiety and depression [8][9][10] , which in turn are related to poor outcomes in the offspring [11][12][13] . Accordingly, pregnant women's known vulnerability for anxiety and depression has become a concern during the COVID-19 pandemic and the severe lockdown measures, including social distancing, workrelated changes, and limited access to healthcare services 14 .…”

The comparison of maternal stress level during pregnancy between two groups of pregnancy outcomes in the COVID-19 pandemic

“…Around 78% of women have moderate stress during pregnancy, while 6% have severe stress. 3 A previous study showed that 54% of the mothers who had stress during pregnancy finally had preterm birth, while the percentage of all mothers with preterm bith was 23%. 4 The term birth occurs between 37 and 42 weeks, while preterm birth is defined as delivery before 37 weeks gestation age.…”