Stress in Pregnancy: How the foetus communicates and how the mother copes

Professor Vivette Glover is Visiting Professor of Perinatal Psychobiology at Imperial College London, UK, having previously been a Professor there for many years. Originally, she studied biochemistry at Oxford University and then moved to London to obtain her PhD in neurochemistry at University College London. Vivette developed a keen interest in perinatal psychiatry and established a multidisciplinary research group with expertise in basic science, psychology, psychiatry, obstetrics and paediatrics. This group has established fruitful collaborations with others around the world, including in Australia, USA, Canada, Belgium, The Gambia, India and South Africa.

Her research has shown the effects of the emotional state of the mother during pregnancy on the developing foetus and longer term on the child, especially on neurodevelopment. If the woman is in the top 15% for symptoms of anxiety or depression during pregnancy, her child has double the risk of a probable mental health disorder at age 13 years, after allowing for a wide range of confounders. Her group have also studied the biological mechanisms that may underlie such fetal programming. They have shown alterations in the function of the placenta in response to prenatal stress, in a way that allows more cortisol to pass from mother to foetus, and can alter the development of the fetal brain. Vivette has published over 450 papers, with over 320 in peer reviewed journals and has been invited to give lectures around the world. She has been awarded the International Marcé Society medal, the John Cox medal, and the PIPUK award for Research into Pregnancy and Infant Mental Health. Her work is contributing to changes in UK government policy, and the findings of the effects of prenatal maternal mental ill health on the child has helped to lead to increased government spending in this area.

Dr Trudi Seneviratne has been Registrar of the College since 2020. In this role, she has overall responsibility for policy, public education, revalidation and membership engagement. She qualified as a medical practitioner in 1992, having trained both at St. Bartholomew’s Medical School and later, as a Research Registrar at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN).

Dr Trudi Seneviratne has been a Consultant Adult and Perinatal Psychiatrist at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust since 2002. She is also the Clinical Director for the Psychological Medicine Clinical Academic Group and Lewisham Directorate at the Trust, supporting the clinical, academic and educational aspects of a range of services: general adult, liaison, crisis, rehabilitation services and specialist services: Neuropsychiatry, Eating Disorders, Perinatal.

She has collaborated on a range of activities including service development, the use of mother and infant interaction videos, quality improvement and outcomes research. She is a current member and previous vice-chair of the National Clinical Reference Group, NHS England; Chair of The Perinatal Faculty, Royal College Psychiatrists (2016-2020). In 2019, she was awarded an Order of the British Empire for services to Perinatal Psychiatry and the President’s medal of the Royal College of Psychiatrists.

Professor Nadja Reissland BSc Ma DPhil (Oxon) is a developmental psychologist and Professor at Durham University Department of Psychology. Her research interests include: prenatal development in relation to maternal stress and depression; the effects of smoking on prenatal and postnatal attachment; precursors of language development and the development of emotional intelligence.

Over the past fifteen years her career has centred on foetal development in relation to maternal mental health, and her work is now at the forefront of the burgeoning field of foetal psychology. Her research concerns foetal behavioural development in the context of light, sound and taste exposure as well as the effects of nicotine in the amniotic fluid. Through internationally peer reviewed publications she has demonstrated that maternal mental health, especially stress, depression and anxiety, affect how the foetus reacts to stimulation (controlling for gestational age). Her pioneering work on foetal facial movements and touch can be applied by healthcare professionals to better direct prenatal support in areas such as healthy eating, avoiding nicotine consumption and managing prenatal stress and depression. The work also has potential uses for obstetricians in helping to identify indicators of healthy development in utero. A YouTube video of foetal development designed for parents can be found online here: Your unborn baby and you