Financial instability during pregnancy may affect infant brain development
Income instability during pregnancy linked to smaller brain regions in infants.
Why it matters
- Financial instability during pregnancy may influence infant brain development, particularly in regions related to stress regulation and emotional processing.
- This highlights the impact of unpredictable life conditions on early neural development.
By the numbers
- 63 infants and their parents participated in the study.
- Nearly half of the families experienced at least one significant income drop during pregnancy.
- Income loss was defined as a decrease of at least 25% in household earnings from one month to the next.
The big picture
- The study suggests that fluctuations in financial stability, rather than income level alone, can affect early brain development.
- Parents experiencing more income losses reported higher levels of anxiety and depression, which may influence infant brain development.
What they're saying
- The study's lead author, Genevieve Patterson, noted that income instability can be a significant stressor during pregnancy, affecting both parents and infants.
- The comments mainly consist of personal anecdotes and moderation rules.
Caveats
- The study is correlational and cannot establish causality.
- The effect sizes were modest but statistically significant.
What’s next
- Further research with larger samples is needed to understand the relationship between income instability, overall income, and infant outcomes.
- The authors plan to explore these relationships in other periods, such as later in childhood.