Maternal Symptoms of Anxiety During Pregnancy Affect Infant Neuromotor Development: The Generation R Study

Abstract

Several studies found that maternal symptoms of anxiety or depression are related to functioning and development of the offspring. Within a population-based study of 2,724 children, we investigated the effect of maternal anxiety or depression on infant neuromotor development. Symptoms of anxiety and depression were measured during pregnancy and after giving birth; infant neuromotor development was assessed by trained research nurses during a home visit at the age of 3 months. The current study showed that mothers who were anxious during pregnancy had an elevated risk of having an infant with non-optimal neuromotor development.