Prenatal maternal stress, prenatal fetal movements and perinatal temperament factors influence behavior and school marks at the age of 6 years.

Niederhofer showed in 1994 that maternal stress during pregnancy seemed to be associated with temperament in early childhood. This study examined the correlation between maternal stress during pregnancy in 227 women, ultrasound observation of intrauterine fetal movements, the child's temperament in early childhood, and the child's school marks at the age of 6 years. Our results show a significant correlation between prenatal maternal stress, perinatal temperament of the child and his/her school marks at the age of 6 years. Only intrauterine fetal movements were associated neither with stress during pregnancy nor with early personality. Copyright 2004 S. Karger AG, Basel