[Obstetrical complications and further schizophrenia of the infant: a new medicolegal threat to the obstetrician?].

Schizophrenia is a multifactorial disease with complex interactions between a genetic liability, possible perinatal complications and exposure to later environmental risk factors in childhood. Maternal influenza infection, wartime-famine-related denutrition and maternal depression or exposure to repeated stress in pregnancy may have a deleterious effect on brain development and neuronal migration. Obstetrical complications which are significantly associated with schizophrenia are bleeding, diabetes, prematurity, fetal growth retardation, Rhesus incompatibility, preeclampsia and congenital malformations. Subjects with onset of schizophrenia before age 22 had more often a history of acute fetal distress (abnormal presentation at birth and complicated cesarean delivery). Obstetrical complications may have a direct negative impact on fetal brain development or may be on the causal pathway between prepartum maternal depression or psychosis, exposure to stress and impaired relation between mother and child consecutive to postnatal depression.