Stress In Pregnancy

Psychoneuroendocrinology. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2011 January 1.
Published in final edited form as:
Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2010 January; 35(1): 141–153.
doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2009.07.010
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High pregnancy anxiety during mid-gestation is associated with decreased gray matter density in 6-9 year-old children
This is the first prospective study to show that a specific temporal pattern of pregnancy anxiety is related to specific changes in brain morphology. Altered gray matter volume in brain regions affected by prenatal maternal anxiety may render the developing individual more vulnerable to neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders as well as cognitive and intellectual impairment.