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Updated: Jun 18, 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
Mothers' negative affectivity during pregnancy and food choices for their infants
S E Hampson1, S Tonstad, L M Irgens
1Oregon Research Institute, Eugene, OR, USA [2] Department of Nutrition, University of Oslo, Blindern, Oslo, Norway. sarah@ori.org
Objective:
The objective of this study was to analyze whether maternal negative affectivity assessed in pregnancy is related with subsequent infant food choices.
Design:
The study design was a cohort study.
Subjects:
The subjects were mothers (N=37 919) and their infants participating in the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study conducted by the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.
Measurements:
Maternal negative affectivity assessed prepartum (Hopkins Symptom Checklist 5 (SCL-5) at weeks 17 and 30 of pregnancy), introduction of solid foods by month 3 and feeding of sweet drinks by month 6 (by the reports of the mothers) were analyzed.
Results:
Mothers with higher negative affectivity were 64% more likely (95% confidence interval 1.5-1.8) to feed sweet drinks by month 6, and 79% more likely (95% confidence interval 1.6-2.0) to introduce solid foods by month 3. These odds decreased to 41 and 30%, respectively, after adjusting for mother's age, body mass index (BMI) and education.
Conclusion:
The maternal trait of negative affectivity is an independent predictor of infant feeding practices that may be related with childhood weight gain, overweight and obesity.
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