Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 29, 2026
Using a Murine Model of Psychosocial Stress in Pregnancy as a Translationally Relevant Paradigm for Psychiatric Disorders in Mothers and Infants
Published on: June 13, 2021
Sweet babies: chocolate consumption during pregnancy and infant temperament at six months
Katri Räikkönen1, Anu-Katriina Pesonen, Anna-Liisa Järvenpää
1Department of Psychology, P.O. Box 9, 00014 University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland. karata2@yahoo.com
Background:
Chocolate contains several biologically active components potentially having behavioral and psychological consequences.
Aims:
We tested whether chocolate consumption and stress experiences during pregnancy predict mother-rated infant temperament at 6 months.
Design And Subjects:
Prenatal frequency of chocolate consumption and intensity of psychological stress experience of the mothers, and temperament characteristics of the infants 6 months postpartum were evaluated in 305 consecutive, healthy mother-infant dyads.
Results:
Mothers who reported daily consumption of chocolate rated more positively the temperament of their infants at 6 months. Maternal prenatal stress predicted more negatively tuned ratings of the infant temperament, particularly among those who reported never/seldom chocolate consumption. However, this effect was not observed among the mothers reporting weekly or daily chocolate consumption.
Conclusions:
In addition to producing subjective feelings of psychological well being, chocolate may have effects at multiple environmental and psychological levels.
