Study on Cause-Effect Relationship of Antenatal Maternal Emotional State with Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Abstract

Neuro developmental disorders (NDDs) include developmental brain dysfunction, which can manifest as neuropsychiatric problems or impaired motor function, learning, language or non-verbal communication i.e. intellectual disability, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, communication disorders, epilepsy, emotional disorders, etc. This study wants to throw light on the fact that mother and fetus are one entity and whatever affects the mother will affect the child. The aim of the study is to find the cause-effect relationship of antenatal maternal emotional state with neurodevelopmental disorders. A sample of 60 cases was obtained with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) which had a stressful antenatal maternal emotional history. Proper diagnostic tools such as Vanderbilt ADHD diagnostic parent rating scale, Screen for child anxiety related emotional disorders (SCARED), developmental screening test (DST), Vinland social maturity scale (VSMS) and basic IQ tests like draw a man test, gazelle drawing, Seguine Form Board (SFB) test, etc. were used for the specific diagnosis of each NDD. Details regarding the antenatal history were elicited such as family stressors, financial problems, interpersonal relationships and any other stressful events. Not only the stressful event/situation but also the type of response/emotions given by the mother during pregnancy period was elicited. The most common emotion causing NDDs was anxiety/worry/fear in the antenatal period and was about 41.66%. In most cases there was intermingling of different emotions also. According to the study, the commonest cause for such negative emotions during pregnancy for the mother was found to be because of the problems created by the alcoholic husband and this cause was identified in almost 25 cases i.e., 41.66%. Intellectual disability and ADHD were found to be the most common outcome. Homoeopathy is one of the best therapeutic modalities in promoting emotional healing and also in helping the process of holistic child development.