Maternal Stress and Affect Influence Fetal Neurobehavioral Development

The authors investigated the association between maternal psychological and fetal neurobehavioral functioning. Data were provided by 52 maternal-fetal pairs at 24, 30, and 36 weeks gestation. The relations between maternal measures and fetal heart rate, variability, and motor activity were statistic...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Developmental psychology 2002-09, Vol.38 (5), p.659-668
Main Authors: DiPietro, Janet A, Hilton, Sterling C, Hawkins, Melissa, Costigan, Kathleen A, Pressman, Eva K
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Analysis of Variance
Behavior
Biological and medical sciences
Child development
Development
Developmental psychology
Educational Status
Embryonic and Fetal Development
Emotional Experience
Emotional States
Female
Fetal Behavior
Fetal Development
Fetal Movement - physiology
Fetal Research
Fetus
Fetuses
Foetus
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Gestational Age
Health
Heart Rate
Heart Rate, Fetal - physiology
Human
Humans
Infant, Newborn
Longitudinal Studies
Male
Maternal Age
Maternal stress
Mental stress
Miscellaneous
Motherhood
Mothers
Motion
Motor Processes
Nervous System - embryology
Neurobehavioural functioning
Parental Characteristics
Pregnancy
Pregnancy Complications - psychology
Prenatal Development
Prenatal Exposure
Prenatal Influences
Psychological Tests
Psychology
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Stress
Stress Variables
Stress, Physiological - psychology
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Summary:The authors investigated the association between maternal psychological and fetal neurobehavioral functioning. Data were provided by 52 maternal-fetal pairs at 24, 30, and 36 weeks gestation. The relations between maternal measures and fetal heart rate, variability, and motor activity were statistically modeled. Fetuses of women who were more affectively intense, appraised their lives as more stressful, and reported more frequent pregnancy-specific hassles were more active across gestation. Fetuses of women who perceived their pregnancy to be more intensely and frequently uplifting and had positive emotional valence toward pregnancy were less active. Associations with fetal heart-rate measures were detected at 36 weeks gestation. These data provide evidence for proximal effects of maternal psychological functioning on fetal neurobehavior.
ISSN:0012-1649
1939-0599
DOI:10.1037/0012-1649.38.5.659