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Several early developmental factors are associated with an increased risk of ADHD during childhood and adolescence. Maternal stress during pregnancy and unwanted pregnancy may increase the incidence of ADHD symptoms in children, according to research. The duration of breastfeeding was also found to have an impact on the risk and onset of ADHD symptoms.

ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by hyperactivity, impulsivity and problems in sustaining attention that cause impairment in many areas of life. ADHD is partly a hereditary condition, but recent research has shown that environmental factors also play a role in the risk and onset of the disorder. Jandeh Jallow, a Licentiate of Medicine at the University of Oulu, Finland, shows in her PhD research that maternal stress during pregnancy and unwanted pregnancy can increase the incidence of ADHD symptoms in children.



It is also possible that the shorter duration of breastfeeding among postnatal risk factors increases the prevalence of ADHD symptoms. Previous studies have shown that early risk factors for ADHD include prematurity and maternal substance abuse during pregnancy. In addition to these, there are prenatal and early childhood factors that have been little studied or have conflicting data in previous studies.

In her population-based doctoral thesis, Jallow examined the understudied risk factors for prenatal and early childhood ADHD in a 1986 Northern Finland birth cohort. She investigated whether maternal p.

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