Obstetric Complications and Physical Size of Offspring of Schizophrenic, Schizophrenic-like, and Control Mothers

Authors:
  • TMThomas F. McNeil
    Thomas F. McNeil
  • LKLennart Kaij
    Lennart Kaij
Publisher website
Google Scholar
Abstract
The question whether schizophrenic mothers have increased risk for obstetric complications (OCs) has practical relevance to fertility recommendations and obstetric surveillance for such women. From a theoretical viewpoint the study of OCs in schizophrenic women concerns the possible relationship between tension-anxiety and OCs, and, additionally, whether the offspring have an increased risk for disturbance based at least partially upon an increased incidence of OCs. Recent evidence suggests a relationship or interaction between genetic factors contributed through family lineage and OCs attending the gestation of genetically-high-risk offspring. Increased OC rates have been found to be differentially characteristic of the pre-schizophrenics or the pre-disturbed persons within discordant monozygotic twin pairs (27), discordant regular sibling pairs (23), and offspring of schizophrenic mothers (18). Mednick (15, p. 56) has suggested that the OCs ‘trigger some characteristic which may be genetically predisposed’.

This publication has 12 references indexed in Scilit: