A total of 35 variables descriptive of birth and obstetric complications, prematurity, maternal discomfort, and demographic status were studied for a sample of 322 infants. Factor analyses of these variables resulted in seven major factors that were used to predict developmental status at 1 year of age for 233 of the subjects. (Author/SB)

Concern exists that a constellation of negative maternal emotions during pregnancy generates persistent negative consequences for child development. Maternal reports of anxiety, pregnancy-specific and nonspecific stress, and depressive symptoms were collected during mid-pregnancy and at 6 weeks and 24 months after birth in a sample of healthy…

Examined the instrumental responses and facial expressions during learning and extinction in a group of 36 cocaine-exposed infants ages 4 to 8 months and an equal number of control subjects. Findings indicated that cocaine-exposed infants expressed less interest and joy during learning and less anger and sadness during extinction than infants who…

Presents information on prenatal brain development, detailing the functions controlled by the medulla, pons, and midbrain, and the implications for cognitive development. Concludes that fetal cognitive motor activity, including auditory discrimination, orienting, the wake-sleep cycle, fetal heart rate accelerations, and defensive reactions,…

Prenatal exposure to the Dutch famine of 1944-45 had no detectable effects on the adult mental performance of surviving male offspring; birth weight was not related to mental performance; and the association of social class with mental performance was strong. (AL)

Reviews the effects of malnutrition during pregnancy and before the age of three on children's brain development and subsequent mental development. Describes marasmus, kwashiorkor, and the incidence of malnutrition in South Africa. Discusses the relationship between the culture of poverty, malnutrition, and illegitimacy. Urges South Africans to…

Authors discuss the effects of malnutrition on retardation of mental development and intellectual capacity. Research findings on undernourished experimental animals are cited as well as studies involving children suffering the effects of malnutrition in infancy. (Editor/LF)

Relates studies of the effects of pre- and post-natal and childhood malnutrition on physical and mental development. Discusses national and international nutrition problems and solutions. (DR)

Examined the relationship between maternal cigarette smoking during pregnancy and children's intellectual functioning through age four. Found that children whose mothers smoked 10 or more cigarettes per day during pregnancy had Stanford-Binet scores 4 points lower than those whose mothers did not smoke during pregnancy. (HTH)

Examined the effects of prenatal drug exposure on adopted children's behavior, temperament, health, and school adjustment by comparing the experiences of 3 cohorts of children: (1) 320 drug-exposed children; (2) 456 children who were not drug exposed; and (3) 620 children whose drug exposure was unknown. Two years after placement no significant…

Evaluated statistically the effect of intranatal and early postnatal period factors on mental development of very low-birth-weight infants. Covariance structure analysis revealed direct influence of birth weight and gestational age in weeks on mental development at age 1, and of opthalmological aberrations and respirator disorder on mental…

Describes studies dealing specifically with the effects of malnutrition on intelligence and school achievement. (ED)

Text of an affidavit in the case, Kennedy v. Detroit Board of Education. Reports on a study which established that prenatal nutrition is directly related to brain size and volume determined at 48 hours of infancy and at eight months of age. Pinpoints the relationship between inadequate nutrition in pregnancy, infant brain size, and intellectual…

Analyzed the influence of a comprehensive program of nurse home visitation on the intellectual functioning of children born to women who smoked cigarettes during pregnancy. Found that comprehensive home-visitation services before and after delivery can offset the impairment in intellectual functioning associated with substantial maternal smoking…