Prenatal Critical Period

Early childhood is the most important phase of development in one’s lifespan as the experiences during childhood sets the course for later stages of development. It has been noted that a mother’s actions during pregnancy may influence the development of an infant. The developmental influences include prenatal, perinatal and neonatal environments. (Santrock, 2002) Although babies come into the world with no say or control over which family they will be placed into, or the environment in which they will begin to live in, theorists agree that the first two years are crucial, with early emotional, physical and social development influenced by the infant’s biological and environmental factors (Sigelman, Rider, & De-George Walker, 2013). The

I believe that mental health is not well discussed, or known, in today’s culture. People could struggle with mental health daily and others could have no idea. There are many different types of mental health issues, and one specific issue that is rarely discussed is postpartum depression. Postpartum depression is a specific type of depression that new mothers can experience after the birth of their child. (Schacter, Gilbert, Wegner, Nock, 2012). The changing hormones a mother can experience directly after birth cause this condition. Postpartum depression can cause a mother to feel sad, guilty, and even experience thoughts of suicide. Postpartum depression may be discussed in the text, but the causes and even the treatments are not.

A second suggested activity during pregnancy could be for the pregnant woman to take care of herself psychologically and emotionally, to ensure that she is not too stressed or experiencing anxiety. Regular relaxation could be advised by taking up yoga and meditation. Too much prenatal stress can have negative developmental implications for the child later in life. Research has indicated that when mothers-to-be have high levels of pregnancy-specific anxiety, their offspring were significantly more likely to show lower inhibitory control among girls, and lower visuospatial working memory performance among girls and boys (Buss et al., 2011).

Throughout life, both children and adults experience varying amounts of stress in their everyday lives. For the most part, this has been proven to be healthy and crucial in strengthening their response to such stimuli later in life. This paper will focus on the findings of various studies in which researchers have found links between stress exposure and childhood development. Specifically, this paper will focus on the effects of what is known as toxic stress and its effects on the development of a child and its role in the development of mental disorders as the child transitions into adulthood.

The prenatal period is when quick changes in the fetal organs are vulnerable to organizing change and stability but also building internal working system to trigger emotional responses (McEwen et al. 2013). It is a critical time for brain development and the PFC (McEwen et al. 2013). It exposes a selection of long -term modifications on brain development and behaviour (Entringer et al. 2009). Prenatal exposure to stress affects hormones in the body including the physiology and anatomy that relate to increasing drug levels, cortical communication and more (Entringer et al. 2009). Fetal stress is any event that interrupts a fetal process in stability in the body. (Entringer et al. 2009). During pregnancy, maternal stress impends the fetal nervous system and shortens the length of maturation due to many issues and concerns affecting the mother (Entringer et al. 2009). During pregnancy, maternal psychosocial stress threatens the fetal nervous system and contracts the length of gestation (Entringer et al. 2009). High levels of placental corticotrophin- releasing hormone

Between conception and birth, babies can be affected by the health of their mother as well as her lifestyle choices. Stress, deit and alcohol are examples of factors that can affect development. It is now recognised that the first twelev weeks of pregnancy is when the foetus is at it's most vulnerable. During this time the foetus

As a child is developing in the womb, its development can be affected at this time, for instance if the mother smokes or uses drugs or excessive

(Stewart, D.E., Robertson, E., Dennis, G.L., Grace, S.L. & Wallington, T. 2003) If we can prevent perinatal to avoid adverse effects on both the mother and child, there is evidence that preventive intentions are efficacious for perinatal depression. The research

Talge, N. M., Neal, C, Glover, V., & the Early Stress, Translational Research Prevention Science Network: Fetal and Neonatal Experience on Child Adolescence Mental Health. (2007). Antenatal maternal stress and long-term effects on child neurodevelopment: How and why? Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 48, 245-261.

In terms of public health and associated concern, in the recent years it has been observed that mental illness has major impact on pregnant women and postpartum period which has become a concern of public health lately. The aspect that associated with pregnancy of women and their mental health that has brought this topic in the forefront is the fact that mental health problems like depression and anxiety have the probability to impact women twice as compared to men. The severity of the situation seen from a global perspective, shows that depression is one of the major reasons of maternal mental illness during the childbearing age of women, which is approximately between the age group of 18 to 40 years. As a result of this to the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) it contributes approximately 7% of the entire GBD for women of all age group (Leham, 2015).

Estimates of the prevalence of postpartum depression range from 13% to 19% (O 'Hara & McCabe, 2013). However, major depressive episodes may go undiagnosed in 65% of pregnant women ( (Ko, Farr, Dietz, & Robbins, 2012). It is important for pregnant women and new mothers to undergo depression screening to be diagnosed and treated early if they are experiencing any symptoms of depression. Depression during pregnancy is associated with a higher risk of inadequate nutrition, poor weight gain, inadequate prenatal care, preterm birth, surgical birth and low birth weight babies (Wirz-Justice, et al., 2011). The newborns have a higher rate of neonatal intensive care admissions and increased risk of cognitive, emotional, and behavioral disorders (Wirz-Justice, et al., 2011).

Another important part of this study was looking at how these effects occurred during different stages of prenatal development, as the “consequences of prenatal maternal stress were determined by the

1. Chapter 9, “Adolescence” Body and Mind,” section Puberty explains the physical and mental changes that teenagers go through, it’s the state in which they transition from children to young adults, incapable of completely just one or the other (Berger, 315). The first changes of puberty, physically-wise, begins around the ages of 9 – 13 years’ old for both boys and girls, which include facial and body hair, deepening of the voice, and of course body growth; such as the hands, feet, face, and private parts. Although genetics do play a role of the timing of these body changes, environmental, emotional, and cultural factors can also affect the time and age when puberty happens. Sometimes it’s delayed, other times the process is quicker than norm. “About two thirds of the variation of age of puberty is genetic, evident not only in families, but also in ethnic groups…precocious puberty is genetic, but the cause of the increase is largely unknown – perhaps childhood obesity or new chemicals in the environment” (Berger, 320-321). Among puberty, adolescents’ nutrition become poor due to body image…In addition, there eating disorders that teenagers discover during their transition, they are more “vulnerable to unhealthy eating,” and unlike childhood, “eating disorders increase drastically during puberty” (Berger, 325). This part of the chapter explains two major and serious types of eating disorders. Anorexia Nervosa is a voluntarily starvation in which a person will starve him or

attractive and the media reinforces this statement." Young adolescent girls buy into this sensation and through doing so, set themselves up for failure. When these predisposing factors are combined with stressors and pressures, the cycle is begun and an eating disorder is formed.

A mother who struggles with depression post-partum is likely to expose her baby to more harmful effects. Gerhardt (2015) states that the baby of a depressed mother can find it difficult to cope with or get over stress, or they may be more fearful (p. 21). These babies also may respond to others with depression themselves, as their mother may be neglectful in their care (Gerhardt, 2015, p. 36). One of the reasons for this is because of their cortisol levels, which can fluctuate situationally. However, in infants this can affect their development (Gerhardt, 2015, p. 83) as well as their immune system (Gerhardt, 2015, p. 118), and is evidence that a mother with depression can have a significant impact on her child well beyond when the depression occurs. Additionally, Gerhardt (2015) notes that, “When they grow up, these babies of depressed mothers are highly at risk of succumbing to depression themselves.” (p.