Prenatal distress links maternal early life adversity to infant stress functioning in the next generation

• In Event: Biobehavioral influences of environmental stress and caregiving behaviors on child outcomes

Abstract

Background. Maternal stress in pregnancy exerts powerful programming effects into the next generation, particularly with regard to offspring stress functioning and, in turn, psychological risk. Yet it remains unclear whether and how adversity from other periods in the woman’s life influences her prenatal stress and her offspring’s stress functioning.

Method. In a sample of 144 Black American mother-infant dyads, we examined whether different types of maternal adversity were differentially related to her infant’s stress functioning within the first few months after birth. We prospectively assessed maternal prenatal distress using a composite measure that included the Edinburgh Depression Scale, the Perceived Stress Scale, and the State Anxiety Inventory early and late in pregnancy. We additionally asked women to retrospectively report on experiences of discrimination across their lifetime (Krieger Experiences of Discrimination Scale) as well as experiences of adversity from their own childhood (Adverse Childhood Experiences and Childhood Trauma Questionnaire). After birth, we assessed infant behavioral adaption (i.e., attention and arousal) in the context of a mild stressor at 2 weeks of age using the NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale, and we collected infant diurnal cortisol at 3-6 months postpartum.

Results. Our composite measure of maternal distress from late, but not early, in pregnancy predicted lower newborn attention in the context of a stressor at 2 weeks postpartum, even after controlling for postpartum maternal distress (=-0.25, R2=0.04, SE=0.11, 95%CI[-0.45, -0.02], p=0.03). Moreover, lifetime experiences of discrimination (=-0.07, SE=0.03, 95%CI[-0.15, -0.02]) and experiences of adversity from the mother’s own childhood (=-0.05, SE=0.03, 95%CI[-0.12, -0.002]) indirectly impacted newborn attention by increasing maternal distress late in pregnancy. Maternal prenatal distress was not associated with newborn arousal or with infant diurnal cortisol. However, our measure of newborn attention was prospectively associated with greater infant diurnal cortisol responsivity 3-6 months later (=-0.29, R2=0.08, p=0.02), further validating it as a marker of early stress functioning.

Conclusions. This study is the first to examine how a woman’s experiences of childhood, lifetime, and prenatal adversity individually and collectively shape early stress functioning in her infant. Our results underscore the cascading nature of stress across mothers’ lifespan and across generations. Further enhancing our understanding of the cumulative, competing, and interactive effects of adversity exposure is integral in illuminating how adversity becomes biologically embedded and ultimately increases psychological risk across generations.

Authors

• Cassandra Lei Hendrix, New York University School of Medicine
  Presenting Author

• April Brown, Emory University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Brooke McKenna, Emory University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Elizabeth Corwin, Columbia University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Anne Dunlop, Emory University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Patricia Brennan, Emory University
  Non-Presenting Author