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Updated: May 22, 2025

Using a Murine Model of Psychosocial Stress in Pregnancy as a Translationally Relevant Paradigm for Psychiatric Disorders in Mothers and Infants
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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

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Maternal depression during pregnancy and children's physical development

Di Pi1,2, Shuifang Lei1,2, Wenjing Chang3

  • 1State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 211166, China.

Journal of Biomedical Research
|May 21, 2025
PubMed

Insights

Prenatal depression significantly increases the risk of childhood overweight and obesity. Maternal depressive symptoms during pregnancy are linked to adverse growth trajectories in children up to 36 months old.

Area of Science:

  • Perinatal mental health
  • Childhood development
  • Public health

Background:

  • Prenatal maternal psychological distress, especially depression, is recognized as a factor affecting fetal growth.
  • The impact of prenatal depression on early childhood development, including growth trajectories and obesity risk, requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between prenatal depression and children's growth trajectories from 1 to 36 months.
  • To examine the odds of childhood overweight and obesity in relation to prenatal depression, considering maternal anxiety and stress.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of data from 4,710 mother-child dyads in the Jiangsu Birth Cohort.
  • Assessment of maternal psychological distress across trimesters, categorized into mild, moderate, and severe depression groups.
  • Utilized weight-for-length z-scores (WLZ) and trajectory models to assess overweight/obesity and growth patterns; generalized estimating equations (GEE) were employed for analysis.

Main Results:

  • Increased prenatal depressive symptomatology was associated with a 28%-41% higher odds of childhood overweight/obesity across all trimesters.
  • Five distinct WLZ growth trajectory patterns were identified.
  • Children of mothers with more severe depressive symptoms had a 39%-47% higher likelihood of following a very-high-stable growth trajectory.

Conclusions:

  • Prenatal depression significantly impacts adverse growth patterns and increases the risk of childhood overweight and obesity.
  • Findings underscore the critical need for early intervention strategies targeting maternal mental health during pregnancy.
  • Maternal psychological distress during pregnancy has lasting effects on child development and health outcomes.

Keywords:
childrencohort studyoverweight and obesityprenatal distress

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