clipped from: psychcentral.com Scientists have long believed that since schizophrenia is associated with abnormal brain structure and functioning that a mothers’ stress during pregnancy could adversely affect brain development in the fetus, even causing mental illnesses such as schizophrenia. Now there is strong evidence to support these assumptions. According to a report in the Archives of General Psychiatry, people born to a mother who experienced the death of a relative during the first trimester of pregnancy have a 67% greater risk of developing schizophrenia.