Fetal Development (PDF)

Nadja Reissland, D. PHIL (OXON), MA, BSc., is a Developmental Psychologist, Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology and Deputy Head of the Science Faculty Durham University UK.  Her work is at the forefront of the growing field of fetal psychology and is especially focused on fetal development in relation to maternal stress and depression, as well as early mother- infant interaction. Her pioneering research on  fetal movements, specifically fetal facial movements, has potential applications for obstetricians helping to identify indicators of healthy development in utero. Her research program includes the effects of maternal mental health (stress and depression) as well as health behaviours (smoking) on fetal behaviour. Furthermore she evaluates behaviours including laterality, vision and precursors to language as evidence of the development of CNS function.

Barbara S. Kisilevsky, BN, MN, MA, Ph.D., is Professor Emerita, Queen's University, Kingston, ON Canada. With academic appointments in Nursing, Psychology, and Obstetrics & Gynaecology, she established an internationally recognized  multidisciplinary research program in the area of sensory development in the perinatal period with collaborations in the USA, Europe and Asia. In over 30 years of examining behavior (e.g., cardiac, body movements) from a psychobiological perspective, she and colleagues have characterized auditory (e.g., white noise, music, mother's voice) and vibroacoustic sensitivity in fetuses in uneventful pregnancies; identified differential behaviors in fetuses in pregnancies complicated by conditions associated with placental insufficiency; determined sensory interventions to reduce behavioral and physiological responses of premature infants to 'pain' stimuli; described mother-infant interactions cross-culturally; and, demonstrated a relationship between fetal voice/speech processing, newborn information processing, and infant language ability. Her laboratory has served as a

“A compendium of 23 chapters describing in 5 sections the developments of brain and behavior in the pre- and post-natal period … . A clearly didactic text with many illustrations … and many references. For neonatologists, developmental psychologists, pediatricians and obstetricians. Recommended.” (Pediatric Endocrinology Reviews (PER), 2017)

“Fetal Development is a collection of chapters crammed full of information that commands the reader’s full attention. … it would be a great reference tool for a pediatrician when he has a patient who smokes or works at a high stress job. … For researchers studying epigenetics or the neurobehavioral effects of exogenous variables-this is the next book they should purchase.” (R. Nicolle Carr, PsycCRITIQUES, Vol. 61 (36), September, 2016)

“This book describes fetal psychobiological research, with an emphasis on genetic and epigenetic factors, along with brain and behavior. … This excellent book covers a wide variety of topics related to fetal development. Researchers and clinicians alike will benefit.” (Gary B. Kaniuk, Doody's Book Reviews, June, 2016)