ACTA FAC. MED. NAISS. 2007;24(3):107-112

   Original article

THE INFLUENCE OF PRENATAL STRESS ON NEUROBEHAVIORAL DEVELOPMENT OF FETUS AND CHILD

Dragan Krstic¹,

Sonja Pop-Trajkovic²,

Miodrag Stankovic³,

Ljiljana Mirkovic⁴,

Darko Marinkovic⁵,

Radojka Dimitrijevic⁶

¹Service of Gynecology with Perinatology General Hospital Leskovac

²Clinic of Gynecology and Obstetrics Clinical Center Nis

³Clinic of Mental Health Protection and Neuropsychiatry of Developmental Age, Clinical Center Nis

⁴Institute of Gynecology and Obstetrics Clinical Center Serbia

⁵Service of Gynecology with Obstetrics General Hospital Uzice

⁶Pediatric Dispensary, Health Care Center Leskovac

SUMMARY

            The aim of the paper was to prove the influence of prenatal stress on neurobehavioral development of fetus and child. The investigation was conducted in 2006 by polling the parents of children born during the bombardment of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1999. On children's regular enrolment into the first grade of elementary school, the parents were to give yes/no answers to the questions about behavior and the existence of behavioral problems during development. The investigation included 685 children divided into four groups by date of birth, so that each group was in different period of development during the bombardment. The first group comprised children whose mothers were not exposed to the bombardment during their pregnancy, that is, the children had already been born. The second group included children whose mothers' pregnancy ranged between the 29th and 40th week of gestation during the bombardment. The third group comprised children whose intrauterine development was in the range between the 13th and 40th week of gestation during the bombardment, while the fourth group included children whose intrauterine development during the bombardment was from the moment of conception to the 13th week of gestation. The data were statistically processed and presented graphically using the SPSS software package. In the group of children born before the bombardment, there is statistically significantly greater number of hyperactive, aggressive and disobedient children compared to the group of children born during the bombardment (II), in which, statistically significantly, the existence of sensibility, insecurity and crying, accompanied by attacks of fear at nigh and speech disorders is more frequent. In the children born in 1999 after the bombardment (III and IV), there are no clear differences in the frequency of extroverted (aggressive) and introverted (submissive) behavior. The quality of life in the FR of Yugoslavia before and after the bombardment can be compared to the quality of life of people living in communities where life, because of social and political insecurity, comes down to constant “fighting for survival”. The period of bombardment from March 24 to June 9, 1999 was also marked with additional biological insecurity and “escapes” into shelters. The pattern of behavior of children in stressful situations, on the principle “fight or escape”, corresponds to behavior of their mothers in the last trimester of pregnancy.

            Key words: prenatal, stress, neurobehavioral, development, adaptation