Prenatal Stress and its Effects on the Development of Children
Introduction
In recent years, there have been an incredible number of medical breakthroughs in prenatal care and childbirth. Since the 1970s, over 800 prenatal tests have been developed to enable early intervention and screening (Brody D5). Despite these advances, infant mortality rates and child development have not made dramatic changes for the better. An important explanation for this lack of progress is prenatal stress. Prenatal stress can be caused by numerous factors including, but not limited to, work-related stress, relationship issues, a traumatic life event, the death of a loved one and financial issues. The many studies of stress in pregnant mothers have repeatedly shown that stress has problematic consequences for development and is proven to lead to higher rates of infant mortality. Prenatal stress in mothers has been found to have adverse effects on birth outcomes and the development of children.
1 Fetal Development
Maternal stress during …show more content…
By this stage, a child who has been negatively affected by prenatal stress will most likely be somewhat behind developmentally, due to the delays they experienced as a young child. However, by the child’s teenage years, there are more noticeable behavioral patterns caused by the maternal stress, as well. In Kingston’s “Prenatal and Postnatal Maternal Mental Health and School-Age Child Development: A Systematic Review,” she explains that “Seven of nine studies found small to medium associations between behavior problems in school-age children and exposure to prenatal stress [including teenagers]” (9). At this stage, prenatal stress begins to emerge as challenges with schoolwork and life in general and the teen’s behavioral responses to daily occurrences. Teenagers whose mothers experienced prenatal stress continue to have adverse
Introduction
In recent years, there have been an incredible number of medical breakthroughs in prenatal care and childbirth. Since the 1970s, over 800 prenatal tests have been developed to enable early intervention and screening (Brody D5). Despite these advances, infant mortality rates and child development have not made dramatic changes for the better. An important explanation for this lack of progress is prenatal stress. Prenatal stress can be caused by numerous factors including, but not limited to, work-related stress, relationship issues, a traumatic life event, the death of a loved one and financial issues. The many studies of stress in pregnant mothers have repeatedly shown that stress has problematic consequences for development and is proven to lead to higher rates of infant mortality. Prenatal stress in mothers has been found to have adverse effects on birth outcomes and the development of children.
1 Fetal Development
Maternal stress during …show more content…
By this stage, a child who has been negatively affected by prenatal stress will most likely be somewhat behind developmentally, due to the delays they experienced as a young child. However, by the child’s teenage years, there are more noticeable behavioral patterns caused by the maternal stress, as well. In Kingston’s “Prenatal and Postnatal Maternal Mental Health and School-Age Child Development: A Systematic Review,” she explains that “Seven of nine studies found small to medium associations between behavior problems in school-age children and exposure to prenatal stress [including teenagers]” (9). At this stage, prenatal stress begins to emerge as challenges with schoolwork and life in general and the teen’s behavioral responses to daily occurrences. Teenagers whose mothers experienced prenatal stress continue to have adverse