The relationship between maternal personal growth during pregnancy and infant neurodevelopment

Optimal adaptation to changes that occur during pregnancy is essential to prevent possible negative effects on maternal psychological health (such as stress or postpartum depression). In fact, an adequate adaptation to the new life situation has implications on the subsequent offspring´s development. Thus, the objective of the present study was to investigate the potential association between levels of personal growth and maternal age during pregnancy with the subsequent cognitive and motor neurodevelopment of the offspring at 6 months of age. Twenty-three pregnant women participated in this longitudinal study. The participants were assessed during the three trimesters of pregnancy using the Ryff Psychological Well-being Scale (Ryff, 1989). The neonates´ neurodevelopment was assessed using the BSID-III at 6 months of age. A multiple linear regression analysis was carried out using maternal growth during pregnancy and gestational age as independent variables, and the levels of cognitive and motor neurodevelopment of the babies at 6 months of age as dependent variables. The results showed that personal growth during pregnancy predicted cognitive neurodevelopment. Personal growth was also positively related with the scalar score of the fine motor subscale. Findings from this study suggest that maternal personal growth during pregnancy is a predictor of the later infants´ neurodevelopment at 6 months of age.