Stress (prenatal and perinatal)

At present, research supports a tentative conclusion that there is a causal connection between prenatal stress and developmental outcomes in humans and non human primates. The most conclusive evidence has been generated by studies on animals, primarily rodents (rats and mice) and non-human primates (monkeys and apes), in which prenatal stress can be experimentally manipulated.

• Pregnant women reporting high levels of stress are at approximately double the risk for preterm birth or fetal growth restriction compared to women reporting low levels of stress.
• Maternal stress and anxiety are associated with complications of pregnancy, preterm delivery and low birth weight.
• Maternal stress is linked with reduced early attention and motor maturity, slower learning and impaired emotion regulation in offspring.
• The effects of stress are not only a function of exposure to potentially stressful circumstances but also of the individual’s subjective appraisals of stress, which in turn may be modulated by other factors, such as cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption and engagement in other stress-related activities.
• There is some evidence indicating that infant boys are more vulnerable to prenatal stress than infant girls.
• The effects of maternal stress during pregnancy appear to peak during early gestation and taper off during mid-to late gestation.

See also Parental leave