Applying Interdisciplinary Frameworks to Study Prenatal Influences on Child Development

Abstract

Modern developmental science is informed by several shared principles and adopts a lifespan approach that goes from infancy to senescence. Increasingly, disciplines outside psychology are adopting research frameworks (e.g., fetal origins, developmental origins of health and disease, first 1000 days) that prioritize prenatal experience as a driver of children's long-term health and developmental outcomes. Despite originating in medical literatures, these new frameworks share many of the core tenets of modern developmental theories. However, they also raise new questions and provoke a broader consideration of developmental influences, outcomes, and contexts. In this article, we describe these frameworks and consider how they align with, differ from, and inform modern developmental science.