Pregnant Women with Depressive and Anxiety Symptoms Read, Talk, and Sing less to their Fetuses

The prevalence of pregnancy depression and/or anxiety varies widely and can be substantial, fluctuating somewhere between 5% and 38% (Bennett et al., 2004; Field, 2011; Le Strat et al., 2011; Mukherjee et al., 2016). Many negative child outcomes have been associated with being born to a mother who experienced depression and/or anxiety during pregnancy or in the postpartum period. For example, insecure attachment in infancy and risk of internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems in childhood are associated with perinatal depression (Agnafors, et al., 2016; Powell et al., 2014; Teti et al., 1995).
Source: Journal of Affective Disorders - Category: Neurology Authors: Tags: Review article Source Type: research