Читать книгу Lifespan Development - Tara L. Kuther - Страница 158

What adaptive purpose might pregnancy-related neurological changes serve?

Although these cultural factors are thought to underlie the positive birth outcomes seen in Latino women, they appear to erode as Latino women acculturate to American society. The birth advantage has been found to decline in subsequent American-born generations. Recent findings have called the existence of the Latino paradox into question, as some samples have illustrated that the negative effects of socioeconomic disadvantage cannot be easily ameliorated by cultural supports (Hoggatt, Flores, Solorio, Wilhelm, & Ritz, 2012; Sanchez-Vaznaugh et al., 2016).

Our discussion thus far has emphasized fetal development; however, expectant mothers also experience radical physical changes during pregnancy. In addition to changes in body weight and shape, pregnancy is accompanied by changes in brain structure and function, as discussed in the Brain and Biological Influences on Development feature.