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Maternal prenatal stress and 4-6 year old children's salivary cortisol concentrations pre- and post-vaccination
Barbara M Gutteling1, Carolina de Weerth, Jan K Buitelaar
1Department of Psychiatry, Radboud University Nijmegen, Medical Center, The Netherlands. b.gutteling@psy.umcn.nl
Insights
Maternal prenatal stress, including daily hassles and fear, elevated children's cortisol levels. Higher maternal morning cortisol during pregnancy also predicted higher child cortisol responses to vaccination.
Area of Science:
- Psychoneuroendocrinology
- Developmental Psychology
- Maternal-Child Health
Background:
- Prenatal stress exposure can impact child neurodevelopment and stress reactivity.
- Cortisol is a key biomarker for the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis response to stress.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between maternal prenatal stress and children's cortisol reactivity to vaccination.
- To determine if maternal cortisol levels and perceived stress during pregnancy predict children's physiological stress responses.
Main Methods:
- Maternal prenatal stress assessed via questionnaires and salivary cortisol measurements around 16 weeks gestation.
- Children's salivary cortisol levels measured before and after a vaccination.
- Hierarchical linear modeling (multilevel analysis) used for data analysis.
Main Results:
- Children of mothers with higher morning cortisol during pregnancy exhibited higher cortisol concentrations.
- Increased daily hassles and fear of bearing a handicapped child during pregnancy were linked to elevated child cortisol levels.
- A significant association was found between maternal prenatal stress indicators and children's cortisol reactivity.
Conclusions:
- Maternal prenatal stress influences children's physiological stress responses.
- Early life stress exposure may have lasting effects on the HPA axis regulation in children.
- These findings highlight the importance of maternal well-being during pregnancy for child development.
Abstract:
In this study influences of maternal prenatal stress on the cortisol reactions of children to a vaccination were determined. Prenatal stress at around 16 weeks of gestation was measured through questionnaires and a cortisol day curve. Cortisol reactions were determined preceding and following the vaccination. A total of 24 children (age between 3.11 and 5.9 years, mean age 4.9 years) and their mothers participated in this study. Multilevel analysis (hierarchical linear modelling) was used to analyze the data. Children of mothers who had higher concentrations of morning cortisol during pregnancy had higher concentrations of cortisol as compared to children of mothers who had lower concentrations of morning cortisol. Furthermore, more daily hassles and a higher level of fear of bearing a handicapped child during pregnancy were associated with higher concentrations of cortisol in the children.
