Maternal Fever During Pregnancy

This book provides evidence that maternal fever during pregnancy is linked with adverse behavioral, temperamental, and academic outcomes in children. Maternal fever during pregnancy, particularly during the second trimester, is thought to have an adverse impact on the development of the central nervous system (CNS) resulting in abnormalities of behavior and temperament that can be observed in childhood. These outcomes tend to remain clinically silent at birth and often evade detection until later in development when the cognitive, social and language requirements of life become more complex and demanding. This finding is consistent with the gestational influenza-schizophrenia association which is also extensively reviewed in this book. Maternal fever during pregnancy appears to be one prenatal insult among the growing list of prenatal exposures that might contribute to less than optimal developmental effects. With its clear writing style yet rigorous scientific approach, this book is a must-have resource for psychiatrists, psychologists, medical professionals, educational professionals, social workers as well as researchers and graduate students in these areas.