The Relationship Between Maternal Experience of Depression Symptoms and Intense Stress During Pregnancy and Child Development Disorders – a narrative review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12775/QS.2026.70.74716Keywords
pregnancy, stress, depression, anxiety, cognitive development, psychomotor development, mental developmentAbstract
Background. Human development begins at the moment two sex cells combine into a single zygote in the mother's womb, where the genetic material passed onto the child by both parents determines the organism's traits. However, during pregnancy, the child's body takes many necessary substances from the mother, and harmful factors can also pass through the placenta. There is great scientific interest focused on the impact of stress and emotions experienced by the mother during pregnancy on her child's development.
Aim. This review paper presents studies examining the relationship between the mental state of expectant mothers and the developmental rate of their children. The aim is to verify the thesis that children of mothers who were more stressed during pregnancy developed slower.
Material and methods. A narrative review of empirical studies concerning the relationship between maternal prenatal stress, depression, and anxiety, and the cognitive, psychomotor, and neurological development of their children.
Results. The reviewed studies report mixed outcomes regarding the impact of maternal mental state on child development. While some studies demonstrate that symptoms of prenatal depression and anxiety are associated with a decrease in cognitive and socio-emotional development, other findings suggest that mild, non-pregnancy-related stress and anxiety may have a slight positive impact on early psychomotor and mental development.
Conclusions. The research results do not unequivocally demonstrate an exclusively negative impact of maternal stress and mental disorders on child development. Mild stress can sometimes stimulate maturation, whereas severe stress and negative attitudes towards pregnancy may be among the numerous factors negatively shaping the child's later life. Further research using objective hormonal measurements is recommended to obtain more conclusive results.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Alicja Sołtan, Małgorzata Witaszczyk, Natalia Wiktorzak, Julia Lipska, Jagoda Prządka, Dominika Kochan-Olszewska, Longin Rudnicki, Jakub Pawlicki, Gracjan Koźma, Justyna Laskus, Paweł Klimas, Bartosz Gawior, Olga Stasiak, Marta Borkowska
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