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High levels of stress during pregnancy can cause an unborn child to have lifelong mental scars, according to researchers.

They believe a mother facing unnecessary crises can leave an imprint in the brains of her children, making them less able to cope as they get older.

The study team asked 25 mothers whether they had suffered extreme stress caused by abuse from boyfriends or husbands while they were pregnant, and then rated their emotional level.

They then monitored the behaviour of a particular gene in their children, who were aged nine to 19.

The gene – called the glucocorticoid receptor – is involved in the brain’s response to stress.

The German researchers found that the gene was far less active in children whose mothers were victims of domestic abuse when they were pregnant.

Abuse after pregnancy did not appear to affect the way the gene responded in the brains of their children.

Helen Gunter, of the University of Konstanz, said: ‘It changes the way that people respond to stress and they may have a reduced ability to respond to stress.

‘Past studies have shown that children who have abused parents are more prone to depression later in life.’ Dr Gunter, who reported the findings in the journal Translational Psychiatry, said the study looked only at the extreme stress caused by partner violence.

‘We did not look at the everyday stresses of working or having a family,’ she added.

‘This study is very specific to abuse.’ The researchers stressed that the study relied on the mother’s memories of abuse after a decade or two.

And it doesn’t prove for certain that violence towards pregnant women causes the changes in a child’s brain – just that there is a link.

Dr Carmine Pariante, of the Institute of Psychiatry at Kings College London, said: ‘This paper confirms that the early foundation years start at minus nine months.

We have known for some time that maternal stress and depression during pregnancy induce a unique response in the offspring, by affecting children’s behaviour well into adolescence and children’s ability to modulate their own stress response.

‘This study shows that the glucocorticoid receptor, that is, the receptor for stress hormones, is subject to a key biological change that contributes to the organisation of this offspring response.

‘This confirms that pregnancy is uniquely sensitive to a challenging maternal psychosocial environment – much more than, for example, after the baby is born.

‘As we and others have been advocating, addressing maternal stress and depression in pregnancy is a clinically and socially important strategy.