Prenatal maternal distress seems to be associated with the infant's temperament and motor development: an explorative study

Abstract

According to the concept of fetal programming, prenatal distress has long-lasting consequences on the offspring's health later in life. The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis is considered a mediating system by which maternal distress is transferred to the fetus in intrauterine environment. In this longitudinal explorative study on 30 mother-child-dyads, reported maternal distress and salivary cortisol were collected during pregnancy. Infant temperament, motor and cognitive development were assessed at 16 months. Additionally, infant cortisol levels throughout the day and in reaction to a psycho-social stressor where measured. As expected, infants whose mothers had experienced higher prenatal distress expressed a more difficult temperament and lower fine motor development at 16 months. No association could be shown between prenatal maternal distress and infant salivary cortisol.

Keywords: Cortisol; Fetal programming; Infant development; Infant temperament; Prenatal distress.