Association between prenatal maternal anxiety and/or stress and offspring’s cognitive functioning: a systematic review and meta-analysis (original) (raw)
Related papers
Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, 2014
Objective: Different studies have revealed mixed findings regarding the relation between maternal prenatal stress or anxiety (MPSA) and early child cognitive outcome. Different methodological considerations may be linked to the absence of clear support for this hypothesized link. The purpose of this article was to conduct a meta-analysis of this relation while considering the following as potential moderators: (1) pregnancy trimester during which MPSA was assessed, (2) type of MPSA assessment (life events, pregnancy related, subjective assessments), and (3) research design (retrospective or prospective). Other moderators were also examined: child age at assessment and the year of publication. Method: Eleven studies were identified (N 5 5903) that examined the relation between MPSA and early child cognitive outcome.
A Meta-Analysis of Maternal Prenatal Depression and Anxiety on Child Socioemotional Development
Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
Objective: Observed associations between maternal prenatal stress and children's socioemotional development have varied widely in the literature. The objective of the current study was to provide a synthesis of studies examining maternal prenatal anxiety and depression and the socio-emotional development of their children. Method: Eligible studies through to February 2018 were identified utilizing a comprehensive search strategy. Included studies examined the association between maternal prenatal depression or anxiety and the future development of their children's socio-emotional development (e.g., difficult temperament, behavioral dysregulation) up to 18 years later. Two independent coders extracted all relevant data. Random-effects meta-analyses were used to derive mean effect sizes and test for potential moderators. Results: 91 effect sizes from 71 studies met full inclusion criteria for data analysis. The weighted average effect size for the association between prenatal stress and child socioemotional problems was OR = 1.66 (95% CI = 1.54-1.79). Effect sizes were stronger for depression (OR = 1.79; 95% CI = 1.61-1.99) compared to anxiety (OR = 1.50; 95% CI = 1.36-1.64). Moderator analyses indicated that effect sizes were stronger when depression was more severe and when socio-demographic risk was heightened. Conclusions: Findings suggest that maternal prenatal stress is associated with offspring socioemotional development, with the effect size for prenatal depression being more robust than anxiety. Mitigating stress and mental health difficulties in mothers during pregnancy may be an effective strategy for reducing offspring behavioral difficulties, especially in groups with social disadvantage and greater severity of mental health difficulties.
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 2005
A direct link between antenatal maternal mood and fetal behaviour, as observed by ultrasound from 27 to 28 weeks of gestation onwards, is well established. Moreover, 14 independent prospective studies have shown a link between antenatal maternal anxiety/stress and cognitive, behavioural, and emotional problems in the child. This link generally persisted after controlling for post-natal maternal mood and other relevant confounders in the pre-and post-natal periods. Although some inconsistencies remain, the results in general support a fetal programming hypothesis. Several gestational ages have been reported to be vulnerable to the long-term effects of antenatal anxiety/stress and different mechanisms are likely to operate at different stages. Possible underlying mechanisms are just starting to be explored. Cortisol appears to cross the placenta and thus may affect the fetus and disturb ongoing developmental processes. The development of the HPA-axis, limbic system, and the prefrontal cortex are likely to be affected by antenatal maternal stress and anxiety. The magnitude of the long-term effects of antenatal maternal anxiety/stress on the child is substantial. Programs to reduce maternal stress in pregnancy are therefore warranted. q
Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 2009
Objective: This study examined whether the most objective risk factors during pregnancy (prenatal) and delivery (perinatal) precede child's anxiety, and whether these factors exerted their influence via child's non-specific cerebral functioning. Method: Median-anxious (n = 82) and high-anxious (n = 188) children (8-12), enrolled via the use of an anxiety screening questionnaire. Mothers were interviewed on pre-/perinatal risk factors, and children completed a visuospatial copying task. Results: High-anxious children were exposed to more prenatal (not perinatal) risk factors and deviated more on the visuospatial copying task. Prenatal risk factors, deviation on visuospatial copying, and their interaction were significant predictors of anxiety, accounting for 13.5% of the variance of anxiety. Conclusions: This percentage is impressive, given the fact that anxiety emerges from various combinations of risk factors and nature-nurture interactions. This study underlined the importance of considering risk factors occurring during pregnancy in relation to child anxiety and brain functioning. ß
Maternal anxiety during pregnancy and subsequent infant development
Infant Behavior and Development, 2001
The association between maternal anxiety during pregnancy and child development was studied prospectively in a group of 105 healthy Caucasian women and their infants. Anxiety was measured with the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory at 32 weeks' gestation. Infant development was measured at three weeks postpartum by means of the Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale, and at one and two years by means of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development. Findings of the present study showed that, even when controlled for a variety of confounding variables, high maternal anxiety levels during late pregnancy were associated with lower mental developmental scores at the age of 2 years. It is suggested that especially attention related processes may be affected, and should be studied in future research. If these findings are confirmed by future research, identification of highly anxious women during gestation may provide an important opportunity to start a support program in order to optimize later infant stimulation and caretaking.
Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health, 2017
What is already known on this topic A growing body of literature documents associations between maternal stress in pregnancy and child development, but findings across studies are often inconsistent. The effects depend to a large extent on the kind of stressors, their objective intensity and duration, time of occurrence and mother's subjective perception of a stressor related threat. What this paper adds Current prospective cohort study design enables longitudinal assessment of a variety of stressors that may influence a child's neurodevelopment. The study indicated that child neurodevelopment is differentially affected by different kinds of maternal stressors Children prenatally exposed to maternal life stress had decreased cognitive functions Occupational stress and satisfaction with family functioning were not significantly associated with child psychomotor development Abstract Aim: A growing body of literature documents associations between maternal stress in pregnancy and child development, but findings across studies are often inconsistent. The aim of this study was to estimate the association between exposure to different kinds of prenatal stress and child psychomotor development. Methods: The study population consisted of 372 mother-child pairs from Polish Mother and Child Cohort. The analysis was restricted to the women who worked at least one month during pregnancy period. Maternal psychological stress during pregnancy was assessed based on: the Subjective Work Characteristics Questionnaire, Perceived Stress Scale and Social Readjustment Rating Scale. The level of satisfaction with family functioning and support was evaluated by APGAR Family Scale. Child psychomotor development was assessed at the 12th and 24th months of age by Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development. Results: Negative impact on child cognitive development at the age of two was observed for the Perceived Stress Scale (β=-0.8; p=0.01) and the Social Readjustment Rating Scale (β=-0.4; p=0.03) after adjusting for the variety of confounders. Occupational stress, as well as satisfaction with family functioning were not significantly associated with child psychomotor development (p>0.05). Conclusions: The study supports the findings that prenatal exposure to maternal stress is significantly associated with decreased child cognitive functions. In order to further understand and quantify the effects of prenatal stress on child neurodevelopment further studies are needed. This will be important for developing interventions that provide more assistance to pregnant women, including emotional support or help to manage psychological stress.
Childhood Anxiety: Prenatal Maternal Stress and Parenting in the QF2011 Cohort
Child Psychiatry & Human Development, 2020
In this study we examine whether specific 'anxiety-maintaining' parenting behaviors (i.e., overinvolvement and/or negativity) exacerbate the effects of disaster-related prenatal maternal stress (PNMS) on school-age anxiety symptoms. Women (N = 230), pregnant at the time of the 2011 Queensland Floods, reported on their experience of flood-related PNMS (objective hardship, cognitive appraisal, subjective distress). At 4-years, mother-child dyads were coded for maternal overinvolvement and negativity during a challenging task; at 6-years mothers reported on their children's anxiety symptoms and their own mood, N = 83. Results showed no associations between PNMS and 6-year anxiety, nor did parenting moderate these effects. Poorer maternal concurrent mood was associated with greater anxiety symptoms at 6 years (β = 0.52). Findings suggest maternal concurrent mood, but not exposure to disaster-related PNMS nor 'anxiety-maintaining' parenting behaviors at preschool age, is related to school-age anxiety symptoms.
HRB Open Research
Background: Prenatal maternal stress (PNMS) is defined as the experience of significant levels of prenatal stress, depression or anxiety during pregnancy. PNMS has been associated with increased risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in exposed offspring. However, these findings are inconsistent and other studies found no association, meaning a clear consensus on the impact of PNMS on ASD and ADHD risk is required. The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to summarize and critically review the existing literature on the effects of PNMS on ASD and ADHD risk. Methods: Electronic databases (PubMed, PsycINFO, Web of Science, Scopus and EMBASE) will be searched for articles following a detailed search strategy. We will include cohort, case-control and cross-sectional studies that assessed maternal exposure to psychological and/or environmental stress and had ASD or ADHD as an outcome. Two reviewers will independently s...
The effects of prenatal maternal stress on children's cognitive development: Project Ice Storm
Stress-the International Journal on The Biology of Stress, 2005
There exists considerable research on the effects of prenatal maternal stress on offspring. Animal studies, using random assignment to experimental and control groups, demonstrate the noxious effects of prenatal maternal stress on physical, behavioural and cognitive development. The generalizability of these results to humans is problematic given that cognitive attributions moderate reactions to stressors. In humans, researchers have relied upon maternal anxiety or exposure to life events as proxies for the stressors used with animals. Yet, the associations between maternal anxiety or potentially nonindependent life events and problems in infants are confounded by genetic transmission of temperament from mother to child. We summarize the literature on prenatal maternal stress and infant cognitive development, leading to the conclusion that the human literature lacks the ability to separate the effects of the objective exposure to a stressor and the mother's subjective reaction. We then describe our prospective Project Ice Storm in which we are following 150 children who were exposed in utero to a natural disaster. We demonstrate significant effects of the objective severity of exposure on cognitive and language development at age two years with important moderating effects of the timing during pregnancy. The implications of our findings are discussed.