By Laurel White
Maternal experiences with racism could affect brain development of children in utero, according to a study co-authored by a School of Education faculty member and doctoral student.
The study, published in Scientific Reports, found preliminary evidence that mothers who experienced racism during pregnancy gave birth to newborns who showed changes in brain activity, particularly in areas of the brain related to vigilance and emotional memory. The analysis of 25 mothers and their children involved self-reported experiences with racism by mothers and MRI imaging of newborns’ brains two weeks after birth.
Sarah Short, assistant professor and the Dorothy King Chair in Educational Psychology in the School of Education’s Department of Educational Psychology, was one of the paper’s co-authors. Short is also a faculty member at UW–Madison’s Center for Healthy Minds.
In the study, Short and her co-authors argue the findings build on previous studies that link maternal health and well-being during pregnancy to the health of their children. They argue the findings, though preliminary, show maternal experiences could affect development in much the same way childhood trauma has been shown to spur long-term, adverse outcomes for individuals’ health and development.
“Other studies of prenatal stress suggest that the impact on the developing brain endures into childhood and likely beyond, potentially increasing the risk for behavioral or psychiatric conditions later in development,” the authors wrote.
Tammi Kral, senior scientist at the nonprofit Healthy Minds Innovations, was the lead author of the study. In a Psychology Today article, Kral argues the findings reinforce the idea of racism as not just a social issue, but a biological issue that can span generations “with tangible effects on the health and well-being of BIPOC families.”
“The evidence is clear that racism is a public health issue and may leave a biological imprint that extends far beyond the individuals who experience it, potentially affecting their children even before they are born,” Kral wrote.
In addition to Short, other co-authors on the study were Camille Williams, a doctoral student in the School of Education’s Department of Counseling Psychology, Rasmus Birn, an associate professor in the UW–Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, and several researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Broadly, Short’s research focuses on the impact of poverty on early child brain development. She has been awarded a $2.5 million National Institute of Child Health and Development (NICHD) grant to study the link between poverty, brain development, and cognitive processes that facilitate learning, self-monitoring and decision-making in children. She leads the Brain and Early Experience Lab.