Maternal prenatal stress phenotypes associate with fetal neurodevelopment and birth outcomes

Maternal prenatal stress influences offspring neurodevelopment and birth outcomes including the ratio of males to females born; however, there is limited understanding of what types of stress matter, and for whom. Using a data-driven approach with 27 variables from questionnaires, ambulatory diaries, and physical assessments collected early in the singleton pregnancies of 187 women, 3 latent profiles of maternal prenatal stress emerged that were differentially associated with sex at birth, birth outcomes, and fetal neurodevelopment. Most women (66.8%) were in the healthy group (HG); 17.1% were in the psychologically stressed group (PSYG), evidencing clinically meaningful elevations in perceived stress, depression, and anxiety; and 16% were in the physically stressed group (PHSG) with relatively higher ambulatory blood pressure and increased caloric intake. The population normative male:female secondary sex ratio (105:100) was lower in the PSYG (2:3) and PHSG (4:9), and higher in the HG (23:18), consistent with research showing diminished male births in maternal stress contexts. PHSG versus HG infants were born 1.5 wk earlier (P < 0.05) with 22% compared to 5% born preterm. PHSG versus HG fetuses had decreased fetal heart rate-movement coupling (P < 0.05), which may indicate slower central nervous system development, and PSYG versus PHSG fetuses had more birth complications, consistent with previous findings among offspring of women with psychiatric illness. Social support most strongly differentiated the HG, PSYG, and PHSG groups, and higher social support was associated with increased odds of male versus female births. Stress phenotypes in pregnant women are associated with male vulnerability and poor fetal outcomes.

Maternal Trauma Exposure and Childhood Anxiety Outcomes: Examining Psychosocial Mechanisms of Risk

The current study aimed to explore the relationship between maternal exposure to various types of trauma and child anxiety outcomes, and to investigate maternal depression and parenting quality as potential mediators of these relationships. Aims were examined within a sample of 185 mother-child dyads who participated in a longitudinal study assessing maternal trauma history, maternal depression, and parenting quality at preschool age (ages 2.5 to 5.5 years), and for whom maternal and secondary caregiver reports of child anxiety were obtained at school age (ages 6 to 11 years). Hypotheses were that (1) maternal exposure to trauma would be positively associated with anxiety levels in offspring and that (2) parenting quality and maternal depression would mediate the relationship between maternal exposure to trauma and child anxiety. Results suggest a direct association between maternal trauma history and child anxiety, as well as indirect associations through parenting quality and maternal depression. These findings are discussed with regard to their implications for the prevention of child anxiety, as well as their implications for the advancement of the literature on intergenerational effects of trauma.