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Maternal psychological distress and fetal growth trajectories

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Introduction

The emotional state of a pregnant woman is said to affect the fetus's development; this is

an ancient statement that is found in every culture. According to animal research, lower fetal and

birth weight is associated with stress exposure of the parent. However, in animals, exposure of

the mother to prenatal anxiety, depression, and stress causes high rates of pre-eclampsia as well

as spontaneous abortion. Also, when a pregnant mother is going through psychological distress,

she is more likely to have a preterm delivery. Research that was done earlier on the correlation

between the psychological stress of the mother and lower birth weight was conflicting. However,

other studies indicated that maternal psychological distress has a negative relationship as far as

birth weight is concerned.

In contrast, other studies found no correlation between low birth weight and maternal

psychological distress. The impact of maternal prenatal distress on birth weight outcomes, like

birth weight, has been studied in previous research. Birth outcome an unreliable method since it

cannot give exact details of the fetal growth during the various stages of the pregnancy.

Individuals can have similar birth weight through different birth trajectories. Therefore, this

population-based cohort research evaluated the impact of maternal distress on pregnant mothers,

not just on birth weight but also on other relevant parameters, such as femur length, abdominal

circumference, and head. This was done during the mid as well as the late stages of pregnancy.

In addition, the ratio of head and abdominal circumference was also studied, and this helps in

identifying symmetrical levels of the growth of the fetus, which indicates brain sparing.

Hypothesis
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The researchers hypothesized that a pregnant mother's maternal distress negatively

impacts the size of the fetus and growth from the middle stage of pregnancy to birth.

Main Points

1. Maternal distress negatively impacts fetal development.

During pregnancy, maternal psychological distress influences the development of the fetus. The

researchers were able to prove that when a pregnant mother is going through psychological

distress, this dramatically influences fetal development. For instance, this study's finding

supported their notion that the fetal head growth can be affected by the mother being

psychologically distressed. This is vital because when the fetal head is developing at a normal

rate, it indicates that the fetus's brain is developing as well.

2. Maternal distress does not affect femur growth.

Maternal distress was proved to affect the abdominal and head growth as well as a reduced

weight gain of the fetus, but it does not affect the growth of the femur. This led to assume that

maternal distress affects the body organs but not the development of the bone structure.

3. Maternal distress impact from mid-pregnancy and beyond affects the fetus more.

Maternal distress during this stage affects the size of the fetus, which is not the case from mid-

pregnancy and earlier. This can be explained by the fact that the fetus's growth mostly occurs

during the last trimester of pregnancy.

4. Maternal distress during pregnancy does not affect birth weight.

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The study confirmed that the results from earlier studies, which implied that maternal distress

affects birth weight, were inconsistent and had sufficient evidence to prove it.
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Works Cited

Henrichs, Jens, et al. "Maternal psychological distress and fetal growth trajectories: the

Generation R Study." Psychological medicine 40.4 (2010): 633-643.