Science · 1969 · 61 citations · 17 references
MedicineObstetricsPsychiatryMaternal Mental HealthMaternal-fetal MedicinePerinatal PsychiatryMaternal Mental Health In PregnancyPostpartum PsychosisPregnancyPrenatal DevelopmentPsychiatric EpidemiologySchizophrenia Spectrum DisordersEtiology Of Psychotic DisordersFetal MortalityHormonal Influences On Perinatal PsychosisMaternal Mental Health DisordersPeripartum Onset PsychosisSchizophrenia In PregnancySex Ratios At Birth
From a review of the records of schizophrenic women whose psychotic symptoms were associated with pregnancy, it was found that those who had developed a psychosis within 1 month of conception delivered only live female infants. A predominance of males was born to 13 women who became psychotic during the first month after delivery. These observations are interpreted as consistent with a theory that schizophrenia is associated with plasma factors which interact with the fetus and provide the basis for a higher fetal mortality.
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