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Author Spotlight: Studying the Impact of Maternal Dietary Deficiencies on Long-Term Offspring Health Outcomes
Published on: June 28, 2024
Associations between antenatal maternal diet and other health aspects with infant temperament in a large multiethnic
Anja Schoeps1,2, Teresa Gontijo de Castro3, Elizabeth R Peterson4
1School of Psychology, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand anja.schoeps@uni-heidelberg.de.
Insights
Maternal diet and lifestyle during pregnancy are linked to infant temperament. Healthy behaviors like good nutrition and less alcohol consumption correlate with easier infant temperaments, while prenatal stress and maternal personality also play significant roles.
Area of Science:
- Perinatal health
- Developmental psychology
- Nutritional science
Background:
- Infant temperament is a crucial developmental outcome.
- Maternal antenatal factors, including diet, personality, and stress, may influence infant temperament.
- Understanding these associations can inform interventions for positive infant development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between antenatal maternal dietary patterns (DPs) and other health aspects with infant temperament.
- To examine the influence of maternal personality and prenatal stress on infant temperament in a multiethnic cohort.
- To identify modifiable maternal behaviors impacting infant temperament.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from 3968 mother-infant pairs in the Growing Up in New Zealand cohort.
- Assessed infant temperament at 9 months using the Infant Behavior Questionnaire-Revised Very Short Form.
- Derived maternal DPs using principal components analysis and employed path analyses to explore associations with temperament, considering maternal personality and prenatal stress.
Main Results:
- Higher adherence to fusion and healthy DPs, increased maternal exercise, and reduced alcohol consumption were associated with less difficult infant temperaments.
- Maternal personality (neuroticism, extraversion) and prenatal stress were significant predictors of infant temperament dimensions.
- Prenatal stress and maternal neuroticism showed the strongest associations with more difficult infant temperaments.
Conclusions:
- Antenatal maternal diet and health aspects show statistically significant, albeit small, associations with infant temperament.
- Findings support a link between maternal modifiable health-related behaviors during pregnancy and infant temperament outcomes.
- These associations, while not deterministic, highlight the importance of maternal well-being for infant development.
Objectives:
The aim of this study was to assess the association of antenatal maternal dietary patterns (DPs) and other health aspects with infant temperament in a large multiethnic cohort, taking maternal personality and prenatal stress into account.
Design And Methods:
Using data from 3968 children born in 2009/2010 and their mothers from the Growing Up in New Zealand cohort, infant temperament was assessed at 9 months using the Infant Behavior Questionnaire-Revised Very Short Form. Maternal antenatal diet and other health aspects were assessed antenatally. Maternal DPs (n=4) were derived using principal components analysis based on food intake reported on a 44-item food frequency questionnaire. Path analyses investigated factors associated with infant temperament, namely maternal personality, prenatal maternal stress, DPs and other health aspects, including potential inter-relations and mediating effects.
Results:
Women who scored higher in the fusion DP (standardised beta (β)=0.05; 95% CI 0.02 to 0.09) and healthy DP (β=0.05; 95% CI 0.02 to 0.09), who exercised more (β=0.04; 95% CI 0.01 to 0.07), and who drank less alcohol (β=-0.05; 95% CI -0.08 to -0.02) were more likely to have infants with an overall less difficult temperament. Sex-specific differences were found in the associations between maternal DP and infant temperament. Maternal personality and prenatal stress were significantly associated with all dimensions of infant temperament. The strongest predictors for a more difficult temperament were prenatal stress (β=0.12; 95% CI 0.08 to 0.15) and the personality dimensions neuroticism (β=0.10; 95% CI 0.07 to 0.14) and extraversion (β=-0.09; 95% CI -0.12 to -0.06).
Conclusions:
Associations of antenatal maternal diet and health aspects with infant temperament were statistically significant but small. While they should not be overinterpreted as being deterministic, the findings of this study support the link between maternal modifiable health-related behaviours and infant temperament outcomes.
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