他们发现，如果母亲高度地处于压力之下，婴儿的应激激素出现变化，如果有家庭暴力，这对于婴儿就有影响。而这种压力婴儿自己是无法控制的。

压力会导致日后的精神疾病和行为问题。

一个针对25名妇女的小型研究发现，他们的孩子现在年龄介乎10至19岁。研究结果发表在《转化精神病学》杂志上。

研究人员指出，参与这项研究的妇女中，除非有特殊的家庭情况，大多数孕妇不会有这样大的压力。

此外，研究人员说，结果并不是决定性的，还有许多其它的因素，包括儿童成长可能涉及到的社会环境。

但他们怀疑，在孩子处在子宫中这个最早的环境是关键的。

在他们的研究中，他们调查了母亲和孩子有无任何不寻常的基因。

一些十几岁的孩子就有了一种特殊的基因的变化，所谓的糖皮质激素受体(GR),它可以帮助调节人体的激素应激反应。

这种遗传变异通常发生在婴儿在子宫中的成长阶段。

科学家们相信，正是由于他们的母亲精神健康不佳，导致在怀孕期间触发了这种基因的变异。(生物谷 Bioon.com)

生物谷推荐原文出处：

Translational Psychiatry   doi:10.1038/tp.2011.21

Transgenerational impact of intimate partner violence on methylation in the promoter of the glucocorticoid receptor

K M Radtke1, M Ruf1, H M Gunter, K Dohrmann, M Schauer, A Meyer and T Elbert

Prenatal exposure to maternal stress can have lifelong implications for psychological function, such as behavioral problems and even the development of mental illness. Previous research suggests that this is due to transgenerational epigenetic programming of genes operating in the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis, such as the glucocorticoid receptor (GR). However, it is not known whether intrauterine exposure to maternal stress affects the epigenetic state of these genes beyond infancy. Here, we analyze the methylation status of the GR gene in mothers and their children, at 10–19 years after birth. We combine these data with a retrospective evaluation of maternal exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV). Methylation of the mother's GR gene was not affected by IPV. For the first time, we show that methylation status of the GR gene of adolescent children is influenced by their mother's experience of IPV during pregnancy. As these sustained epigenetic modifications are established in utero, we consider this to be a plausible mechanism by which prenatal stress may program adult psychosocial function.