Influence of maternal distress during pregnancy on fetal malformations

1 October 1980

journal article
research article
Published by Wiley in Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica

Vol. 62 (4) , 315-330
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0447.1980.tb00618.x

Abstract

The aim of the study was to investigate whether emotional stress in a pregnant woman might have an adverse effect in the form of malformations on fetal development. The children of 1263 women whose applications for legal abortion in 1960 had been refused were compared with the next children born in the same delivery wards and paired matched controls were thereby obtained. The results may be seen as support for the hypothesis that emotional stress in a pregnant woman, operationally defined by the factor unwanted pregnancy, may interfere with fetal development and result in a higher incidence of malformations. The interference may occur directly via psycho-endocrinal or autonomous mechanisms or indirectly by the way in which the woman might act in this situation of stress.

Keywords

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