Abstract
Studies in rodents and nonhuman primates indicate that maternal stress
during pregnancy can influence the developing fetus, resulting in delay of
motor and cognitive development and impaired adaptation to stressful
situations. These effects may be mediated by the
hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. We examined whether stress
during pregnancy predicted developmental outcome of human infants in a
prospective design. Self-report data about daily hassles and
pregnancy-specific anxiety and salivary cortisol levels were collected in
nulliparous pregnant women. Dependent measures were scores on the Bayley
Scales of Infant Development and on temperamental questionnaires at 3 and
8 months. Pregnancy-specific anxiety in mid pregnancy predicted lower
mental and motor developmental scores at 8 months. Early morning values of
cortisol in late pregnancy were negatively related to both mental and
motor development at 3 months and motor development at 8 months.
Pregnancy-specific anxiety explained 7% of the variance of
test-affectivity and goal-directedness at 8 months. Increased maternal
stress during pregnancy seems to be one of the determinants of
temperamental variation and delay of development of infants and may be a
risk factor for developing psychopathology later in life.
