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Updated: Jan 13, 2026

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Lower fetal heart rate variability and parenting stress associate with toddler psychopathology risk

Anna M Zhou1,2, Sarah E Maylott3, Dylan Neff4

  • 1Department of Psychiatry, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA. anna.m.zhou@cuanschutz.edu.

Scientific Reports
|January 7, 2026
PubMed

Insights

Fetal heart rate variability (HRV) interacts with parenting stress. Lower fetal HRV combined with high parenting stress predicts increased externalizing problems in toddlers.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Neuroscience
  • Pediatrics

Background:

  • Fetal heart rate variability (HRV) variations may indicate future psychopathology risk.
  • The postpartum environment, particularly parenting stress, can influence developmental trajectories.
  • Understanding early individual differences and environmental factors is crucial for predicting child outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine the relationship between fetal HRV and toddler psychopathology.
  • To investigate the moderating role of postnatal parenting stress on this association.
  • To identify early risk factors for psychopathology in mother-infant dyads.

Main Methods:

  • Longitudinal study of 159 mother-infant dyads from third trimester to 18 months postpartum.
  • Remote fetal HRV measurement during late gestation (34-40 weeks).
  • Parental self-report questionnaires for parenting stress (7 months) and toddler socioemotional outcomes (18 months).

Main Results:

  • Fetal HRV alone was not significantly linked to internalizing or externalizing problems.
  • Parenting stress positively correlated with internalizing problems.
  • A significant interaction revealed that lower fetal HRV predicted higher externalizing symptoms under high parenting stress.

Conclusions:

  • The interaction between fetal HRV and parenting stress is a significant predictor of toddler externalizing problems.
  • Parenting stress is a key intervention target, especially for infants with lower fetal HRV.
  • This research offers novel insights into early transdiagnostic risk factors for psychopathology.

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