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

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

Thomas F. McNeil
Affiliation:
Lafayette Clinic, 951E Lafayette, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A.; and Associate Professor, University of Lund, Malmö Allmänna Sjukhus, S-214 01 Malmö, Sweden
Lennart Kaij
Affiliation:
University of Lund, Malmö Allmänna Sjukhus, S-214 01 Malmö, Sweden

Extract

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’.

Type
Papers
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1973 

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