Vivette Glover

Who is Vivette Glover?

Vivette Glover is a British Professor of Perinatal Psychobiology at Imperial College London. She studies the effects of stress in pregnancy on the development of the fetus and child. Her first degree was in Biochemistry at Oxford University, and she did her PhD in neurochemistry at University College London. She then moved to Queen Charlotte’s Maternity Hospital, London. In more recent years she has applied her expertise in biological psychiatry to the problems of mothers and babies. In 1997 she set up the Fetal and Neonatal Stress Research Group. The aims are to study fetal and neonatal stress responses, methods to reduce them, and long term effects. The effects of the emotional state of the mother, both on the developing fetus and longer term on the child are being studied. Recent projects of interest include studies showing that maternal prenatal stress, depression or anxiety increases the probability for a range of adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes for the child. These include emotional problems, attention deficit/ hyperactivity disorder, conduct disorder, and cognitive impairment. Her group are also studying the biological mechanisms that may underlie such fetal programming. She has published over 400 papers. She has been awarded the Marcé Society Medal and has been a special advisor to the Department of Health on the Family Nurse Partnership and Preparation for Pregnancy, Birth and Beyond.