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Stressful life events in pregnancy and head circumference at birth

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 November 2003

Carsten Obel ,
Morten Hedegaard ,
Tine Brink Henriksen ,
Niels Jørgen Secher  and
Jørn Olsen
Carsten Obel
Affiliation:
The Perinatal Epidemiological Research Unit, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark.
Morten Hedegaard
Affiliation:
Department of Obstetrics, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Tine Brink Henriksen
Affiliation:
Department of Paediatrics, Aarhus University Hospital, Skejby, Aarhus N, Denmark.
Niels Jørgen Secher
Affiliation:
Departments of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, King Faisal Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Jørn Olsen
Affiliation:
The Epidemiological Science Center, Department of Epidemiology and Social Medicine, Aarhus University, Aaarhus, Denmark.
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Abstract

A strong association between stress in pregnancy and small head circumference in infants at birth was reported in 1994. This important finding has never been replicated. In a follow-up study of 4211 participants with singleton pregnancies, information on life events was collected twice during pregnancy and head circumference measured shortly after birth following standard procedures. No association was found between experienced or perceived stress as a result of life events during pregnancy and head circumference in the infants. In conclusion, stress in pregnancy may influence foetal brain development in many ways, but we found no support for an effect on the size of the brain as measured by head circumference at birth.

Type
Original Articles
Information
Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology , Volume 45 , Issue 12 , December 2003 , pp. 802 - 806
Copyright
© 2003 Mac Keith Press

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