Women who experience anxiety while pregnant are more likely to give birth earlier than women who don't.
Stress can reduce a woman's ability to become pregnant during her menstrual cycle, a new study reports.
Prenatal exposure to cannabis was associated with an increased risk of neuropsychological disorders, including anxiety and depression, in children. The risk grows as they enter adolescence and adulthood.
Children born to women with gestational diabetes and obesity were twice as likely to be diagnosed with ADHD than those born to mothers who did not suffer from those conditions.
Researchers discovered the link between autism and maternal infection does not appear to be causal. Results suggest the increased autism risks are more likely to be explained by shared familial factors including genetics or aspects of a shared environment.
Using large data sets, researchers determined children on the autism spectrum can be broken into three subgroups based upon co-occurring conditions, and those subgroups are associated with different prenatal risk factors. Infections, anti-inflammatory and other complex medications were associated with one group, while joint disorders and immune system problems were associated with another. The third subgroup was associated with overall pregnancy complications. Researchers have developed a new blood test that can for autism and prenatal risk factors for ASD.
Essential nutrients found in fish counteract and provide neuroprotection against mercury in fish, researchers report. The new study says eating fish during pregnancy can help provide essential nutrients to the developing fetus.
Exposure to chemicals such as melamine, cyanuric acid, and aromatic amines from household products, hair dyes, and pesticides can cause cancer and lead to child developmental issues, researchers report. The study found the majority of pregnant women have levels of the toxic chemicals in urine samples.
Researchers are calling for postnatal depression risk screening for women with persistent depression while they are still pregnant.
Air pollution along with housing insecurity and stress during pregnancy leads to an increased risk of autism-like social behaviors and differences in neural anatomy in male mice offspring. Researchers believe the changes could be due to the immune system.
Opioids impact the gut microbiome of developing fetuses, altering metabolic pathways and increasing the risks of both neurological and behavioral differences later in life.
Study explores how maternal infection can affect fetal brain development, leading to sensory processing disruptions associated with ASD and schizophrenia.
