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Can maternal anxiety lead to ADHD?

posted Tuesday, 20 June 2006

A large study of Danish mums recently showed that maternal anxiety and distress during pregnancy increases the risk of low birth weight because it causes high levels of cortisol, the fight-flight hormone, in offspring. The anxiety-inducing high cortisol levels are passed through the placenta to the foetus. This makes the child at greater risk of being jumpy and overexcitable, jammed in a state of permanent preparation to deal with threat. In several studies, the effect has been shown to endure long after the birth.

Boys whose mothers were emotionally troubled during late pregnancy were significantly more likely to have ADHD when followed up at 3, 5, 7 and 9. A study of 7,000 offspring of mothers who had been anxious in the third trimester were twice as likely to have ADHD. Tia's story is also consistent with the second body of evidence: disturbed early relating between mother and baby can contribute to ADHD. Offspring of mothers who are measured as intrusive or overstimulating when the infant is six months old are more likely to have ADHD when aged 3 and 11.

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Copyright 2006 Times Newspapers Ltd.

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