How a mothers emotional state during pregnancy can alter child development

Professor Vivette Glover is the recipient of the Parent Infant Partnership UK (PIPUK) Award for Research in Pregnancy and Infant Mental Health.

Professor Glover's award was presented on June 14 at a PIPUK awards ceremony held at New Scotland Yard and was presented by the MP Tim Loughton, chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on the First 1001 Days (covering pregnancy and the first two years of a child's life). 

Professor Glover speaks more about her winning research, which looks at how a mother’s emotional state during pregnancy can alter the development of her fetus and her child.

"We have shown that if the mother is in the top 15% of a general population for symptoms anxiety or depression, this doubles the risk of her child having a range of neurodevelopmental problems such as ADHD, conduct disorder or symptoms of anxiety and depression, after allowing for a wide range of possible confounders including postnatal mood and parenting.  It also increases the risk of cognitive problems".

"Most children are not affected and we have shown that the genetic makeup of the child can help to explain their vulnerability or resilience.  We have also shown some of the underlying mechanisms, including how the mother’s emotional state can affect the function of her placenta. The implication of this is that if we could give better emotional care to women during pregnancy, we would improve outcome for our children".

"Also, ADHD, conduct disorder and cognitive problems are strong risk factors for later criminal behaviour. The police are very interested in all this as they often notice when they go to arrest a teenager that a younger sibling is already showing behavioural problems. They would rather have early intervention to prevent crime rather than having to deal with it when it happens".

Find out more about the work of the Parent Infant Partnership UK and Professor Vivette Glover.