Traumatic brain injury (TBI) sustained by a woman during pregnancy can also harm her unborn baby, new research has discovered.
The study found multiple lines of evidence to support that a mother’s TBI interrupts the unborn baby’s brain development, similar to the adverse effects of alcohol, drugs, Zika and German Measles during pregnancy.
Gravida TBI, as TBI in pregnancy is known, changes the brain development of the baby, and the offspring may later show evidence of depression, anxiety and an altered immune response.
Among the study’s findings – completed by the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix, in collaboration with Barrow Neurological Institute at Phoenix Children’s Hospital – male babies showed more of these outcomes post-partum.
“We’re really concerned that the effects of brain injury in a pregnant individual can travel through the blood stream and disrupt the development of the unborn child,” says Dr Jonathan Lifshitz, professor of Child Health at the UArizona College of Medicine – Phoenix, who led the study.
“This study shows that gravida TBI in mothers can have transgenerational effects on children, where more research can determine how the trimester of pregnancy, genetics and environmental conditions affect risk.”
Risk factors for TBI in pregnancy can include falls, motor collisions and intimate partner violence (IPV).
For women, TBI and IPV are closely related and typically cause a domino health impact for them, and now for their unborn children. Sixty to 90 per cent of women who suffer IPV assaults also sustain a TBI.
In addition, IPV is the leading cause of death in women of childbearing age and when women are pregnant, it significantly increases the risk and severity of IPV.
A retrospective study at the Barrow Neurological Institute and the 2010 Summary Report of the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS) indicates that one in three females will experience IPV in some form during their lifetime, but only 21 per cent of victims will seek medical treatment for physical assault.
Dr Jonathan Lifshitz
“Specifically, our research looked at mental health issues, such as anxiety and depression, and the effects of gravida TBI were more prevalent in our male offspring than they were in female offspring,” says Dr Lifshitz.
“As we complete more research, gravida TBI may explain neurodevelopmental issues and possibly gender or sex trends in mental health disorders.
“The social impact of the research we’re doing stems from the fact that a large portion of people are exposed to intimate partner violence — physical assault perpetrated by a known abuser on another individual.
“What’s even worse is that intimate partner violence increases in intensity and frequency when one partner is pregnant.”
“We are focused right now on understanding to what extent gravida TBI effects are present in babies and children,” says Dr P. David Adelson, co-author of the study, chief of paediatric neurosurgery, professor of Child Health and director of the Barrow Neurological Institute at Phoenix Children’s Hospital.
“These findings will aid researchers and healthcare providers in devising societal and medical treatments to support children who were exposed to gravida TBI during foetal development.”
