| Professor Vivette Glover |
Vivette Glover is currently Professor of Perinatal Psychobiology at Imperial College London. She was trained as a biochemist at Oxford and 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 Foetal and Neonatal Stress Research Group. The aims are to study foetal 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 foetus and longer term on the child are being studied. This is a new field for study, and one which involves linking obstetrics, paediatrics, psychology and psychiatry. She has published over 400 papers.
Recent projects of interest include studies showing that antenatal maternal stress or anxiety substantially increases the probability for a range of adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes for the child. These include attention deficit/ hyperactivity disorder, conduct disorder, and cognitive impairment, all of which in turn put the child at future risk of criminal behaviour.
She joined WAVE Trust as a Trustee because her research and that of others is showing how important the very early environment, including that in the womb, is for the future development of our children. She is convinced that If we want to reduce a range of problems, including violence, the time to start with preventative interventions is at the very beginning.
Our vision is to create a world where every child is loved and cared for, and where every person is treated with respect. The focus of our work is to eliminate child abuse and violence.