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Stressful life events in pregnancy and head circumference at birth

Carsten Obel1, Morten Hedegaard, Tine Brink Henriksen

  • 1The Perinatal Epidemiological Research Unit, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark. co@soci.au.dk

Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology
|December 12, 2003
PubMed

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.

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