Children's language not affected by stress in pregnancy
Pregnant mums can be reassured with findings from the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research that show relatively common stressful events during pregnancy do not have a long term impact on a child's language development.
Previous research has linked maternal stress during pregnancy to behavioural and emotional problems in children. This is the first study to specifically address the effect of maternal stress during pregnancy on children's language ability.
The language ability of 1309 children was assessed in middle childhood, between 9 and 11 years of age, with data for this research coming from the Western Australian Pregnancy Cohort (Raine) Study.
The findings, published in the latest edition of Early Human Development, showed that relatively common stressful events experienced during pregnancy, such as financial or relationship difficulties, were not detrimental to the child's language ability at 10 years of age.
Study leader Dr Andrew Whitehouse says the results may provide reassurance for expecting mothers.
"Mothers carry all sorts of guilt during pregnancy, not only with regards to what they can and can't eat or do, but also the level of stress that is healthy for the developing baby. However, many stressful events are completely out of their control, such as the death of a relative, " Dr Whitehouse said.
"I think this research may provide some comforting news to mothers, that these negative but relatively common experiences do not have a detrimental influence on the language development of their child".
The study found that the largest contribution to language development was the amount of time parents spent reading to their child during the first three years of life.
"These findings once again confirm the importance of interacting with your child and providing a nurturing language environment in promoting language development," says Dr Whitehouse.
About the Raine Study
The Raine Study is jointly conducted by the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research and The School of Women's and Infant's Health at the University of Western Australia. The study started in 1989, when 2900 pregnant women were recruited into a research study at King Edward Memorial Hospital to examine ultrasound imaging. The mothers were assessed during pregnancy when information was collected on the mother and the father, for example diet, exercise, work, health, etc. The research team at the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research have assessed the children at 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 10, 14 and 17 years of age. At each follow-up, information is collected from the parents and the child.
Find out more at www.rainestudy.org.au