Maternal Caregiving May Reverse Effects of Stress During Pregnancy on Newborns: Study

Pregnant women experience immense stress during pregnancy and is passed on to the baby inside as well. However, the stress disappears when the mother starts taking care of the newborn, reveals a new study. In the study of 94 mother-infant pairs, higher levels of the primary stress hormone cortisol in women during pregnancy were associated with greater cortisol-based stress responses in infants. However, only in those whose mothers were less emotionally available after birth.

Other markers of stress during pregnancy did not show this association, however.

“These results are strikingly similar to those reported in animal work and emphasize the joint contribution of prenatal and postnatal environments in programming of later outcomes,” said lead author Sarah Nazzari, of Scientific Institute IRCCS Eugenio Medea, in Italy.

“From a clinical perspective, findings suggest that enhancing maternal sensitive caregiving, especially in situations of high stress in pregnancy, should be a key target of postnatal interventions in order to attenuate the long-term consequences of prenatal adversity on child development.”



Source-Eurekalert