Researchers Link Schizophrenia to Pregnancy Complications A study published on Monday in the journal ‘Nature Medicine’ reported that issues with pregnancy can increase a child’s risk of developing the mental illness later in life. The complications listed were high blood pressure (preeclampsia), delayed growth of the fetus (intrauterine growth restriction) and water breaking an hour before labor (premature rupture of membranes) without induction of labor. The lead author of the study, Dr. Daniel Weinberger, said that these issues occur in about 15 percent of pregnancies, and they can trigger genes in the placenta to “turn on” and activate the risk of schizophrenia. Schizophrenia affects 1 percent of the population and is characterized by mood swings, dysfunctional thinking, hallucinations and reduced expression, among other symptoms.