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Prenatal Maternal Stress in Context: Maternal Stress Physiology, Immunology, Neuroendocrinology, Nutrition and Infant Development

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Diet, Nutrition, and Fetal Programming

Part of the book series: Nutrition and Health ((NH))

Abstract

Just as maternal diet during pregnancy may program fetal development, so may prenatal stress. Stress (and related constructs such anxiety, trauma, depression, stressful life events, and pregnancy-related distress) can cause changes in the pregnant woman’s neuroendocrine and immune systems, which may alter fetal/child development. Rather than acting as a barrier, the placenta is semi-permeable to such alterations in maternal physiology, and fetal developmental trajectories may be shaped accordingly. A large literature has examined maternal stress in relation to infant outcomes ranging from growth and metabolism to stress reactivity to neurodevelopment. Animal models suggest that the effects of stress on the developing offspring are profound (and largely mediated through glucocorticoid pathways), but the translation from animal studies to human development is uncertain. Epidemiological studies offer further support for connections between prenatal stress and infant outcomes, but they are often confounded by factors including socioeconomic status, diet, and environmental exposures, and the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Future research is needed that adopts a more multidisciplinary approach to jointly consider the effects of prenatal stress and nutrition on child health and development.

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Abbreviations

BBB:

Blood brain barrier

CRH:

Corticotropin releasing hormone

DoHaD:

Developmental origins of health and disease

HPA:

Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology, Rutgers University School of Public Health, Piscataway, NJ, USA

    Emily S. Barrett PhD

  2. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY, USA

    Emily S. Barrett PhD

  3. Department of Clinical and Social Sciences in Psychology, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA

    Ana Vallejo Sefair BA

  4. Department of Psychiatry, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, USA

    Thomas G. O’Connor PhD

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  1. Emily S. Barrett PhD
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  2. Ana Vallejo Sefair BA
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  3. Thomas G. O’Connor PhD
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Correspondence to Emily S. Barrett PhD .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Nutrition, King's College, London, United Kingdom

    Rajkumar Rajendram

  2. Department of Nutrition, King's College, London, United Kingdom

    Victor R. Preedy

  3. Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Westminster, London, United Kingdom

    Vinood B. Patel

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Barrett, E.S., Sefair, A.V., O’Connor, T.G. (2017). Prenatal Maternal Stress in Context: Maternal Stress Physiology, Immunology, Neuroendocrinology, Nutrition and Infant Development. In: Rajendram, R., Preedy, V., Patel, V. (eds) Diet, Nutrition, and Fetal Programming. Nutrition and Health. Humana Press, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60289-9_1

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