Stress During Pregnancy Can Alter Offspring's Brain Development

The effect of the life in the womb on emotional and physical health can be greater than the genes we inherit. Recent research suggests that the condition in the uterus can significantly determine how an offspring?s brain and mind will function at adulthood. If a mother suffers trauma or experiences excessive stress during pregnancy, the offspring?s are born with certain deficiencies which may persist into adulthood. Studies have shown that mental disorders such as schizophrenia, depression, anxiety and autism in humans are the outcome of stress experienced by a mother during pregnancy. Maternal stress during pregnancy has also been linked with lower birth weight, height, and is known to impair attention, memory, and intelligence of the offspring. My work provides new evidence that stress experienced by a mother during pregnancy can have a significant impact on offspring?s neural circuit development. This book provides important insights on how stress experienced by a mother during pregnancy can change the development of neurons in the offspring and ultimately the brain functions and the behaviors.