Titre du document / Document title

Maternal anxiety during pregnancy and subsequent infant development

Auteur(s) / Author(s)

BROUWERS Evelien P. M. ⁽¹⁾ ; VAN BAAR Anneloes L. ⁽²⁾ ; POP Victor J. M. ⁽³⁾ ;

Affiliation(s) du ou des auteurs / Author(s) Affiliation(s)

⁽¹⁾ National Institute for Health Services Research (NIVEL), P.O. Box 1568, 3500 BN Utrecht, PAYS-BAS
⁽²⁾ Department of neonatology, Emma Children's hospital - AMC, University of Amsterdam, PAYS-BAS
⁽³⁾ Department of Clinical Health Psychology, Tilburg University, Tilburg, PAYS-BAS

Résumé / Abstract

The association between maternal anxiety during pregnancy and child development was studied prospectively in a group of 105 healthy Caucasian women and their infants. Anxiety was measured with the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory at 32 weeks' gestation. Infant development was measured at three weeks postpartum by means of the Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale, and at one and two years by means of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development. Findings of the present study showed that, even when controlled for a variety of confounding variables, high maternal anxiety levels during late pregnancy were associated with lower mental developmental scores at the age of 2 years. It is suggested that especially attention related processes may be affected, and should be studied in future research. If these findings are confirmed by future research, identification of highly anxious women during gestation may provide an important opportunity to start a support program in order to optimize later infant stimulation and caretaking.

Revue / Journal Title

Infant behavior & development   ISSN 0163-6383   CODEN IBDEDP 

Source / Source

2001, vol. 24, n^o1, pp. 95-106 (2 p.)

Langue / Language

Anglais

Editeur / Publisher

Elsevier, New York, NY, ETATS-UNIS  (1978) (Revue)

Mots-clés anglais / English Keywords

Human ; Infant ; Cognition ; Psychomotor development ; Cognitive development ; Mother ; Pregnancy ; Anxiety ;

Mots-clés français / French Keywords

Homme ; Nourrisson ; Cognition ; Développement psychomoteur ; Développement cognitif ; Mère ; Gestation ; Angoisse anxiété ;

Mots-clés espagnols / Spanish Keywords

Hombre ; Lactante ; Cognición ; Desarrollo psicomotor ; Desarrolo cognitivo ; Madre ; Gestación ; Angustia ansiedad ;

Localisation / Location

INIST-CNRS, Cote INIST : 20346, 35400009477853.0060