Transmitting biological effects of stress in utero: Implications for mother and offspring
Section snippets
Maternal stress and early life programming of disease
The early life environment is not only crucial for setting the growth trajectory of the foetus but is now recognised as a key factor contributing to disease susceptibility in later life (Barker, 1995). Thus the developing foetus adapts to an insult in utero with permanent changes in structure, physiology and metabolism which are initially beneficial for survival. In later life, particularly when there is a mismatch between the early and later life environment (Gluckman et al., 2005), these
Exposure to excess glucocorticoids as a mediator of maternal stress effects on the developing foetus
One of the key hormonal systems thought to transmit the effects of maternal stress to the developing foetus is the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Many studies in rodent models have demonstrated that the effects of prenatal stress are at least partly mediated via the HPA axis through exposure to excess glucocorticoids (Harris and Seckl, 2011). Data are less clear-cut in humans, particularly as many studies have shown little correlation between maternal anxiety levels and maternal
Contemporary early life stressors influencing offspring outcome
In modern society maternal obesity and low socio-economic status are examples of pertinent physiological and social stressors for women during pregnancy (Fig. 1). Despite major advances in health in developed countries there remain major discrepancies in disease according to social class. Lower socioeconomic position is associated with increased risk of morbidity and premature mortality from physical and mental disorders, and confers similar trans-generational consequences on the offspring. The
Long term effects of prenatal and early postnatal stress for mother and child
There is much evidence that women who have developed a physical illness in pregnancy such as pre-eclampsia are at later risk of hypertension and cardiovascular disease (Melchiorre et al., 2011), suggesting that pregnancy is itself a physiological stressor, and an adverse metabolic response to pregnancy predicts later vulnerability to disease. So are there any long-term consequences for a mother who has experienced psychosocial stress in pregnancy? Follow up studies of women exposed to extreme
Implications and future research
Understanding of the mechanisms whereby stressors are transmitted from mother to foetus will not only improve our knowledge of normal foetal development but also identify novel pathways for early intervention either in the preconception, pregnancy or early postpartum period. Initial findings suggest that a simple stress management instruction can improve maternal mood and reduce morning cortisol levels during pregnancy (Urizar et al., 2004). High self-efficacy and daily uplifts seem to have a
Contributors
RMR wrote the first draft of the manuscript. JL, CB, PG and KR carried out additional edits to the manuscript. All authors approved the final draft.
Role of funding source
This work had no particular funding source.
Conflict of interest
RMR, JL, CB, PG and KR all declare that there is no actual or potential conflict of interest related to the submitted manuscript.
Acknowledgement
No additional funding source was received for this work.
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2021, Economics and Human BiologyCitation Excerpt :Additionally, stress may suppress the developing immune system (Merlot et al., 2008), which could account for the higher incidence of respiratory and other infections in the infants. There is also evidence that the effects of prenatal stress on child development could be mediated via the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis through exposure to excess glucocorticoids (cortisol in human beings) (Reynolds et al., 2013; Hantsoo et al., 2019), with possible effects on brain structure and physiology related to cognitive and executive functions (Bock et al., 2015; Teicher et al., 2016). And finally, mothers’ behavior may change in response to stressful events—specifically, stress may induce high-risk behaviors such as drinking alcohol, smoking, poor diet, etc., and these behaviors may in turn affect fetal development and health (Dunkel-Schetter, 2009; Clark et al., 2021).
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