Effect of Maternal Prenatal Cortisol on Maternal Prenatal Anxiety and Infant Temperament

BACKGROUND: Previous research found that anxious characteristic traits might have its origin in the prenatal phase due to the infant's exposure to maternal stress hormones. Maternal prenatal stress symptoms as well as high cortisol levels have been found to predict negative affectivity in infant temperament. The current paper examined whether maternal prenatal cortisol decline during the day in late pregnancy mediates the relationship between maternal prenatal anxiety and negative affectivity in infant temperament at age 1. METHOD: This longitudinal correlational study included 114 mother-child pairs. Anxiety was assessed once in the last trimester of pregnancy and three months after giving birth. Salivary samples were taken five times a day for two days in the third trimester to determine cortisol concentrations. Infant temperament was assessed by a questionnaire answered by the mothers at infant's age 1. Maternal postnatal anxiety, birth weight and infant's gender were examined as...Show moreBACKGROUND: Previous research found that anxious characteristic traits might have its origin in the prenatal phase due to the infant's exposure to maternal stress hormones. Maternal prenatal stress symptoms as well as high cortisol levels have been found to predict negative affectivity in infant temperament. The current paper examined whether maternal prenatal cortisol decline during the day in late pregnancy mediates the relationship between maternal prenatal anxiety and negative affectivity in infant temperament at age 1. METHOD: This longitudinal correlational study included 114 mother-child pairs. Anxiety was assessed once in the last trimester of pregnancy and three months after giving birth. Salivary samples were taken five times a day for two days in the third trimester to determine cortisol concentrations. Infant temperament was assessed by a questionnaire answered by the mothers at infant's age 1. Maternal postnatal anxiety, birth weight and infant's gender were examined as possible covariates. RESULTS: Results revealed that there is a significant correlation between maternal prenatal anxiety and negative affectivity in infants (p < .05). No mediation effect of cortisol decline on the relationship between high scores in maternal prenatal anxiety and higher negative affectivity in infants was found. DISCUSSION: It was not clear whether adverse behavioural developments were dependent on maternal prenatal patterns and thus, whether infants could be prone to anxiety issues in later life. The study provided a framework for future studies to assess pathology's aetiology in a transgenerational way. Alternative explanations, limitations and future directions were discussed.Show less

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Effect of Maternal Prenatal Cortisol on Maternal Prenatal Anxiety and Infant Temperament