The Impact of Unwanted Pregnancy on Schizophrenia in Offspring

Schizophrenia is a serious mental condition that greatly impacts the way a person thinks, feels, and behaves. Someone who suffers from this illness has difficulty perceiving reality and often suffers from hallucinations and delusions. Although this mental disorder is not as common as others, the symptoms of schizophrenia can be very dangerous. Schizophrenia is more common among males than females. In addition, pregnant women with this disorder have a greater risk of pregnancy complications regarding the baby.

Individuals who have schizophrenia are typically more prone to higher stress levels than the average pregnant woman. Pregnant mothers with schizophrenia often fear for both their and their child’s future. Therefore, their positive thoughts about pregnancy decline. This places an even greater deal of stress during the pregnancy, which, as we learned in the lecture, can cut off blood flow to the baby (Lecture Notes: Brain Development Fritz, 9/21/18). The more stress the mother experiences during her pregnancy can increase the likelihood of the mental disorder being passed on to the baby. Both of the research articles that I found state that schizophrenia was more likely to be passed on from the mother to the child if their pregnancy was unwanted because of their elevated stress levels.

The first research journal argues to explain the connection between a mother’s unwanted pregnancy and the likelihood her child will develop the disorder. The researchers state that unwantedness of the baby in moms who have schizophrenia are exposed to higher levels of stress which can affect hormonal regulation along with other disturbances, such as the transportation of certain nutrients. This can, in turn, affect fetal development. This research study was conducted using 71 pregnant individuals who were diagnosed with SSD (schizophrenia spectrum disorder). Several mothers were asked questions in an interview about their opinions on having a baby. These responses were then placed into one of five categories, which explained the rate of happiness the mother felt about her baby. The results of this article explain that a majority of the mothers who were diagnosed with SSD were still positive about their pregnancy, but there were others whose negative attitude about pregnancy showed a connection with schizophrenia disorder, although the difference in attitudes did not show a significant impact on the attitude of pregnancy and SSD.

The second article focused on the extent to which an offspring can be affected by unwanted pregnancy in moms who are already diagnosed with schizophrenia. The researchers clearly stated in the article that unwanted pregnancy directly increased the chance of the offspring developing the disorder. Similar to the other study, several mothers with schizophrenia were interviewed and asked various questions regarding their current living situation, any relationships, and any fears about both her and her baby’s future. Once again, a scale from 1-5 was used to rate the mothers’ attitudes toward their pregnancies.

The results showed that unwanted pregnancy was found in less than half of the total participants. However, still was found to be directly correlated to the likelihood of schizophrenia in their offspring. Both of the articles state that there was not a significant correlation between a mother’s unwanted pregnancy and spectrum disorders. However, pregnant mothers with schizophrenia already have elevated stress levels because of their fear for the baby’s future, which can most certainly play a role in the baby’s possibility of inheriting the disorder. This explains how developing schizophrenia can be a combination of both nature and nurture.

My partner Taylor actually knows someone who suffers from schizophrenia. Alex is a 23-year-old male who most likely inherited his schizophrenia from his mother, who also suffers from it. Although he inherited the gene when he was born, his symptoms did not become noticeable until he hit puberty. Coincidently, that’s also when his mother and father got divorced. Alex is aware that he suffers from schizophrenia, so he seems to have all these explanations of why he does certain things. For example, because Alex is 6’6, he convinced himself that the government was out to get him to use him as an experiment.

In response to his beliefs, he stocked his mailbox with rocks so the government couldn’t “monitor his mail.” Although he only has around three episodes a month, the effects of schizophrenia can be quite dangerous. During certain episodes, his mind tells him to kill himself, hurt others, or do other dangerous things. High school was a hard time for him as he got into several fights throughout the day and sometimes even grabbing other people and trying to hurt them. The interesting aspect is that Alex was pretty intelligent when he was younger. As he got older and his symptoms became severe, his grades began to drop. Post-high school, he did attend college but dropped out during his sophomore year due to poor grades. Although my partner and I do not know the extent to which Alex’s mom felt about her pregnancy, I believe her high levels of stress due to her own mental condition cut off blood flow to the baby, which could have severely impacted fetal development.

Although schizophrenia only affects about 1% of the population (American Addiction Centers Resource, 2015), teaching mothers who have the disorder how to cope with the stress of their pregnancy can help decrease the chances of passing it on to their offspring. One example of a way to cope with stress is for the mother to attend weekly therapy sessions. I personally have never been to therapy, but I know several people who attend regular sessions and say they are extremely beneficial. Being able to talk about one’s stress during pregnancy is a much more effective strategy than bottling up one’s fear or other negative attitudes. Another way a schizophrenic mother can cope with her stress is by keeping a daily diary. For instance, each day, the mother can write down one thing she is excited about when her baby is born. This could include toys she will get to purchase for her child or activities she’s looking forward to doing with him/her.

Another effective recommendation for future mothers who end up having a child with schizophrenia is to get their child tested before puberty. This will ensure they get the proper medication to help treat the condition before symptoms become more severe as the years pass. We should use government funding to properly train family members who reside in a household with a schizophrenic pregnant mother to monitor the pregnancy along with their daily episodes. This strategy would be the most effective as it is of no inconvenience for the mother, and she can stay in the comfort of her own home. If more people recognize the stressors schizophrenic moms face during their pregnancy, we would have a more effective way to reduce the possibility of passing the condition down to the next generation.

In conclusion, unwanted pregnancy in mothers who already suffer from schizophrenia has been shown to affect fetal development, including passing the trait down to her baby. Surprisingly, research shows that various genes can affect the chance of developing schizophrenia. As of now, it is hard to focus on one specific gene as active research is still being conducted. Chromosome 22 could be involved in some schizophrenia circumstances. (U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2018). Schizophrenia produces a higher level of stress in pregnant mothers than non-affected mothers, mainly because of her fear for both her and her child’s future. If more people are aware of the consequences of high-stress levels, we can help more mothers cope with stress which will decrease fetal development altercations, such as schizophrenia.

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