Abstract
Many studies have examined the effects of prenatal stress on pregnancy and fetal development placing particular attention to long-term effects on behavioral and emotional development of the child. These implications are reviewed and illustrate the importance of assessing individuals differently and examining prenatal exposure to stressors during each trimester of pregnancy. Gestational age of exposure is associated with greater vulnerability to a particular outcome because different brain regions devleop at different stages. It is also imperative to look at the different health risk factors such as maternal behavior, psychosocial implications and epigenetic factors in order to better understand their relationships with pregnancy and …show more content…
Historically, researchers have emphasized the grave importance of the early stages of life; but most scientists until the mid-20th century had underrated the importance of life in the womb. It is now well established that the gestational period is ever more important for the normal developmental of the fetus and is facilitated through certain critical windows (Zucchi at al., 2013). During these windows, the fetal brain undergoes significant developmental changes as structures and connections are being formed. Exposure to a multitude of health risk factors can have serious negative implications. Some of these factors include maternal health behaviors, stress and anxiety, HPA dysregulation and the transmission of such effects from the mother to the fetus through induced placental changes. We will also briefly touch on gene-environment interactions and epigenetic responses to changes (Hochberg et al., 2010). Maternal exposure to stress during pregnancy is associated with significant alterations in offspring neurodevelopment. Reasearch shows that there is now much evidence showing that offsprings with mothers with high leveles of stress are more likely to have disruptive behavior problems as children. We start by reviewing the effects of stress during pregnancy and the immediate and potential long-term developmental …show more content…
Stressors may vary from daily hassles to major life events. Typically, during the initial exposure to a stress, our brains appraise the stress and set off a cascade of regulatory responses, that is, activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal cortex system (HPA axis) and the sympathetic nervous. Various hormones including corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH), adrenocorticotropic-releasing hormone (ACTH), cortisol, and adrenalin are in turn released into the bloodstream. The degree of stress response is dependent on a multitude of factors ranging from the way in which we cope with a given stressors down to genetic predispositions, personality characteristics, and previous experiences (Mulder, E et al.,
Many studies have examined the effects of prenatal stress on pregnancy and fetal development placing particular attention to long-term effects on behavioral and emotional development of the child. These implications are reviewed and illustrate the importance of assessing individuals differently and examining prenatal exposure to stressors during each trimester of pregnancy. Gestational age of exposure is associated with greater vulnerability to a particular outcome because different brain regions devleop at different stages. It is also imperative to look at the different health risk factors such as maternal behavior, psychosocial implications and epigenetic factors in order to better understand their relationships with pregnancy and …show more content…
Historically, researchers have emphasized the grave importance of the early stages of life; but most scientists until the mid-20th century had underrated the importance of life in the womb. It is now well established that the gestational period is ever more important for the normal developmental of the fetus and is facilitated through certain critical windows (Zucchi at al., 2013). During these windows, the fetal brain undergoes significant developmental changes as structures and connections are being formed. Exposure to a multitude of health risk factors can have serious negative implications. Some of these factors include maternal health behaviors, stress and anxiety, HPA dysregulation and the transmission of such effects from the mother to the fetus through induced placental changes. We will also briefly touch on gene-environment interactions and epigenetic responses to changes (Hochberg et al., 2010). Maternal exposure to stress during pregnancy is associated with significant alterations in offspring neurodevelopment. Reasearch shows that there is now much evidence showing that offsprings with mothers with high leveles of stress are more likely to have disruptive behavior problems as children. We start by reviewing the effects of stress during pregnancy and the immediate and potential long-term developmental …show more content…
Stressors may vary from daily hassles to major life events. Typically, during the initial exposure to a stress, our brains appraise the stress and set off a cascade of regulatory responses, that is, activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal cortex system (HPA axis) and the sympathetic nervous. Various hormones including corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH), adrenocorticotropic-releasing hormone (ACTH), cortisol, and adrenalin are in turn released into the bloodstream. The degree of stress response is dependent on a multitude of factors ranging from the way in which we cope with a given stressors down to genetic predispositions, personality characteristics, and previous experiences (Mulder, E et al.,