Children of women who were stressed during pregnancy are more likely to develop ADHD.
An estimated three to four percent of children in Britain have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), which can be associated with impulsivity, difficulty concentrating and restlessness.
A scientific review of 55 studies found that children whose mothers were depressed, anxious, or stressed while pregnant were more likely to develop ADHD.
These children were also more likely to exhibit aggressive behavior, such as hitting and fighting, and showed signs of ‘oppositional defiant disorder’ (ODD), which involves negative and disruptive behavior, especially toward authority figures such as parents and teachers.
They more often showed signs of ‘conduct disorder’ (CD), which often involves highly antisocial behavior such as stealing, fighting and vandalism.
A scientific study found that children born to mothers who were depressed, anxious or stressed during pregnancy were more likely to develop ADHD (stock image)
The review included studies with more than 45,000 participants, focusing mainly on depression and anxiety, but also included two studies that asked women how severely and often they felt stressed during pregnancy.
Then, between the ages of two and eighteen, they looked at their children’s outward behavior, such as hostility and aggression, rather than internalized behavior, such as anxiety, and whether they had the conditions ADHD, ODD and CD.
The study found that boys and girls were more likely to show signs of the three conditions and outwardly bad behavior if their mothers were more depressed, anxious and stressed during pregnancy.
These mothers may produce chemicals linked to stress that could alter their baby’s brain development in the womb, some experts believe.
Brain changes in utero have been linked to differences in the way young children respond to stress and regulate their behavior, leading to behavioral problems.
There may be a good evolutionary reason for this, whereby the body of a mother in distress signals to her child in the womb that she is in a threatening environment, so that they can take advantage of this by being more aware of threats and responding more strongly to them respond when they occur. in the world.
Dr. Irene Tung, who led the research at California State University, said: ‘Our research suggests that psychological problems during the pregnancy period have a small but persistent effect on children’s risk of aggressive, disinhibited and impulsive behaviour.
‘These findings add to the evidence that providing widely accessible mental health care and support during pregnancy can be a crucial step in helping prevent behavioral problems in children.’
The review, published in the journal Psychological Bulletin, found a stronger link between stress during pregnancy and poor behavior or ADHD, ODD and CD in children in early childhood aged two to five.
The association was less strong for older children aged six to twelve and teenagers aged thirteen to eighteen.
The behaviors and circumstances were mainly reported by parents, but also by teachers.
They were linked to pregnancy stress, anxiety and depression, even after the researchers took into account women’s stress levels after their children were born.
However, the link between stress and children’s behavior, although significant, turned out to be small.