Influence of maternal stress on fetal behavior and brain development.

The very early establishment of certain sensory faculties turns the fetus into a being capable of perceiving multiple stimuli. This perceptive capability forms part of many interchanges between the mother and her developing child. These interchanges are doubtless not only biological and metabolic in nature, but also sensorial and sensitive. The importance of a good quality of psychoaffective communication between mother and child during pregnancy has been shown to be decisive for fetal growth and also for the perinatal period and further development of the child. Maternal psychological stress leads to adverse pregnancy outcome. Chronic anxiety causes an increased stillbirth rate, fetal growth retardation and altered placental morphology. Experimental studies have demonstrated a relationship between specific episodes of maternal psychological stress and exacerbation of fetal asphyxia in utero. It is concluded that all the psychoaffective interchanges between the mother and child are decisive for harmonious fetal growth and brain development. Copyright 2001 S. Karger AG, Basel