Maternal fetal stress transfer (original) (raw)

Maternal fetal stress transfer describes the physiological phenomenon by which psychosocial stress experienced by a mother during her pregnancy can be transferred to the fetus. Psychosocial stress (or simply social stress) describes the brain's physiological response to perceived social threat. Because of a link in blood supply between a mother and fetus, it has been found that stress can leave lasting effects on a developing fetus, even before a child is born. According to recent studies, these effects are mainly the result of two particular stress biomarkers circulating in the maternal blood supply: cortisol and catecholamines.