Skip to main content
Contribution to Book
Prenatal Stress and Infant Temperament
Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences
  • Aya Shigeto, Nova Southeastern University
  • Mia Knowles
  • Michael Voltaire, Nova Southeastern University
Document Type
Book Chapter
ISBN
978-3-319-28099-8
Publication Date
2-1-2019
Description

For many parents-to-be, pregnancy is an exciting and joyful time. However, it can also be a stressful time, whether stress is a preexisting issue that precedes pregnancy or comes from uncertainty and anxiety surrounding childbirth and child-rearing. Past research showed that prenatal stress and anxiety, particularly that of expectant mothers, can have adverse effects on infant temperament. Stressors during pregnancy are not only mothers’ (or parents’) psychological issues but also external factors such as teratogens (e.g., cigarettes, alcohol, drugs) that create a toxic prenatal environment for a developing fetus, which in turn creates long-lasting consequences for the offspring.

Publisher
Springer Nature
Additional Information

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_447-1

Citation Information
Aya Shigeto, Mia Knowles and Michael Voltaire. "Prenatal Stress and Infant Temperament" Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences (2019)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/aya-shigeto/49/