Introduction
For many parents-to-be, pregnancy is an exciting and joyful time. However, it can also be a stressful time, whether stress is a preexisting issue that precedes pregnancy or comes from uncertainty and anxiety surrounding childbirth and child-rearing. Past research showed that prenatal stress and anxiety, particularly that of expectant mothers, can have adverse effects on infant temperament. Stressors during pregnancy are not only mothers’ (or parents’) psychological issues but also external factors such as teratogens (e.g., cigarettes, alcohol, drugs) that create a toxic prenatal environment for a developing fetus, which in turn creates long-lasting consequences for the offspring.
Biological Processes
Stress can be defined in different ways, but biologically, stress is associated with increased blood plasma levels of cortisol. Cortisol is the most important human glucocorticoid that is released by the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis involved in stress response and...
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Baibazarova, E., van de Beek, C., Cohen-Kettenis, P. T., Buitelaar, J., Shelton, K. H., & van Goozen, S. H. (2013). Influence of prenatal maternal stress, maternal plasma cortisol and cortisol in the amniotic fluid on birth outcomes and child temperament at 3 months. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 38(6), 907–915. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2012.09.015.
Becker, M., Weinberger, T., Chandy, A., & Shmukler, S. (2016). Depression during pregnancy and postpartum. Current Psychiatry Reports, 18(3), 32. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-016-0664-7.
Bergman, K., Sarkar, P., Glover, V., & O’Connor, T. G. (2008). Quality of child-parent attachment moderates the impact of antenatal stress on child fearfulness. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 49(10), 1089–1098. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.2008.01987.x.
Buitelaar, J. K., Huizink, A. C., Mulder, E. J., de Medina, P. G. R., & Visser, G. H. (2003). Prenatal stress and cognitive development and temperament in infants. Neurobiology of Aging, 24, S53–S60. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0197-4580(03)00050-2.
Burke, K. C., Burke, J. D., Rae, D. S., & Regier, D. A. (1991). Comparing age at onset of major depression and other psychiatric disorders by birth cohorts in five US community populations. Archives of General Psychiatry, 48(9), 789–795.
Challis, J. R. G., Sloboda, D., Matthews, S. G., Holloway, A., Alfaidy, N., Patel, F. A., … Newnham, J. (2001). The fetal placental hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis, parturition and postnatal health. Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology, 185(1), 135–144. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0303-7207(01)00624-4.
Checkley, S. (1996). The neuroendocrinology of depression and chronic stress. British Medical Bulletin, 52(3), 597–617. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.bmb.a011570.
Clark, C. A. C., Espy, K. A., & Wakschlag, L. (2016). Developmental pathways from prenatal tobacco and stress exposure to behavioral disinhibition. Neurotoxicology and Teratology, 53, 64–74. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ntt.2015.11.009.
Coe, C. L., & Lubach, G. R. (2008). Fetal programming: Prenatal origins of health and illness. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 17(1), 36–41.
Cutrona, C. E., & Troutman, B. R. (1986). Social support, infant temperament, and parenting self-efficacy: A mediational model of postpartum depression. Child Development, 57(6), 1507–1518. https://doi.org/10.2307/1130428.
Davis, E. P., Snidman, N., Wadhwa, P. D., Dunkel, S. C., Glynn, L., & Sandman, C. A. (2004). Prenatal maternal anxiety and depression predict negative behavioral reactivity in infancy. Infancy, 6(3), 319–331. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327078in0603_1.
de Weerth, C., van Hees, Y., & Buitelaar, J. K. (2003). Prenatal maternal cortisol levels and infant behavior during the first 5 months. Early Human Development, 74(2), 139–151. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-3782(03)00088-4.
Di Florio, A., Forty, L., Gordon-Smith, K., Heron, J., Jones, L., Craddock, N., & Jones, I. (2013). Perinatal episodes across the mood disorder spectrum. Journal of the American Medical Association Psychiatry, 70(2), 168–175. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2013.279.
Dimidjian, S., & Goodman, S. H. (2014). Preferences and attitudes toward approaches to depression relapse/recurrence prevention among pregnant women. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 54, 7–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2013.11.008.
DiPietro, J. A., Hodgson, D. M., Costigan, K. A., & Johnson, T. R. (1996). Fetal antecedents of infant temperament. Child Development, 67(5), 2568–2583. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.1996.tb01875.x.
DiPietro, J. A., Bornstein, M. H., Costigan, K. A., Pressman, E. K., Hahn, C. S., Painter, K., …, Yi, L. J. (2002a). What does fetal movement predict about behavior during the first two years of life? Developmental Psychobiology, 40(4), 358–371. https://doi.org/10.1002/dev.10025.
DiPietro, J. A., Hilton, S. C., Hawkins, M., Costigan, K. A., & Pressman, E. K. (2002b). Maternal stress and affect influence fetal neurobehavioral development. Developmental Psychology, 38(5), 659–668. https://doi.org/10.1037//0012-1649.38.5.659.
DiPietro, J. A., Ghera, M. M., & Costigan, K. A. (2008). Prenatal origins of temperamental reactivity in early infancy. Early Human Development, 84(9), 569–575. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2008.01.004.
DiPietro, J. A., Costigan, K. A., & Voegtline, K. M. (2015). Studies in fetal behavior: Revisited, renewed, and reimagined. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 80(3), vii–vii94. https://doi.org/10.1111/mono.v80.3.
Edwards, R. C., & Hans, S. L. (2016). Prenatal depressive symptoms and toddler behavior problems: The role of maternal sensitivity and child sex. Child Psychiatry & Human Development, 47(5), 696–707. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-015-0603-6.
Field, T., Diego, M., Delgado, J., & Medina, L. (2013). Peer support and interpersonal psychotherapy groups experienced decreased prenatal depression, anxiety and cortisol. Early Human Development, 89(9), 621–624. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2013.04.006.
Gillman, M. W. (2005). Developmental origins of health and disease. The New England Journal of Medicine, 353(17), 1848–1850. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMe058187.
Glover, V., Bergman, K., Sarkar, P., & O’Connor, T. G. (2009). Association between maternal and amniotic fluid cortisol is moderated by maternal anxiety. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 34(3), 430–435. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2008.10.005.
Gong, H., Ni, C., Shen, X., Wu, T., & Jiang, C. (2015). Yoga for prenatal depression: A systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Psychiatry, 15(1), 14. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-015-0393-1.
Grant, K. A., McMahon, C., Reilly, N., & Austin, M. P. (2010). Maternal sensitivity moderates the impact of prenatal anxiety disorder on infant mental development. Early Human Development, 86(9), 551–556. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2010.07.004.
Kapoor, A., Dunn, E., Kostaki, A., Andrews, M. H., & Matthews, S. G. (2006). Fetal programming of hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal function: Prenatal stress and glucocorticoids. The Journal of Physiology, 572(1), 31–44. https://doi.org/10.1113/jphysiol.2006.105254.
Kessler, R. C., McGonagle, K. A., Zhao, S., Nelson, C. B., Hughes, M., Eshleman, S., …, Kendler, K. S. (1994). Lifetime and 12-month prevalence of DSM-III-R psychiatric disorders in the United States: Results from the National Comorbidity Survey. Archives of General Psychiatry, 51(1), 8–19.
Kofman, O. (2002). The role of prenatal stress in the etiology of developmental behavioural disorders. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 26(4), 457–470. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0149-7634(02)00015-5.
McGrath, J. M., Records, K., & Rice, M. (2008). Maternal depression and infant temperament characteristics. Infant Behavior and Development, 31(1), 71–80. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.infbeh.2007.07.001.
Monk, C., Fifer, W. P., Myers, M. M., Sloan, R. P., Trien, L., & Hurtado, A. (2000). Maternal stress responses and anxiety during pregnancy: Effects on fetal heart rate. Developmental Psychobiology, 36(1), 67–77. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1098-2302(200001)36:1<67::AID-DEV7>3.0.
Monk, C., Fifer, W. P., Myers, M. M., Bagiella, E., Duong, J. K., Chen, I. S., …, Altincatal, A. (2011). Effects of maternal breathing rate, psychiatric status, and cortisol on fetal heart rate. Developmental Psychobiology, 53(3), 221–233. https://doi.org/10.1002/dev.20513.
O’Connor, T. G., Heron, J., Glover, V., & ALSPAC study team. (2002). Antenatal anxiety predicts child behavioral/emotional problems independently of postnatal depression. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 41(12), 1470–1477. https://doi.org/10.1097/00004583-200212000-00019.
O’Hara, M. W., & McCabe, J. E. (2013). Postpartum depression: Current status and future directions. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 9, 379–407. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-050212-185612.
Perales, M., Refoyo, I., Coteron, J., Bacchi, M., & Barakat, R. (2015). Exercise during pregnancy attenuates prenatal depression: A randomized controlled trial. Evaluation & the Health Professions, 38(1), 59–72. https://doi.org/10.1177/0163278714533566.
Pesonen, A. K., Räikkönen, K., Strandberg, T. E., & Järvenpää, A. L. (2005). Continuity of maternal stress from the pre-to the postnatal period: Associations with infant’s positive, negative and overall temperamental reactivity. Infant Behavior and Development, 28(1), 36–47. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.infbeh.2004.09.001.
Porter, C. L., & Hsu, H. C. (2003). First-time mothers’ perceptions of efficacy during the transition to motherhood: Links to infant temperament. Journal of Family Psychology, 17(1), 54. https://doi.org/10.1037/0893-3200.17.1.54.
Rice, F., Lewis, A., Harold, G., van den Bree, M., Boivin, J., Hay, D. F., … Thapar, A. (2007). Agreement between maternal report and antenatal records for a range of pre and peri-natal factors: The influence of maternal and child characteristics. Early Human Development, 83(8), 497–504. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2006.09.015.
Rice, F., Harold, G. T., Boivin, J., Van den Bree, M., Hay, D. F., & Thapar, A. (2010). The links between prenatal stress and offspring development and psychopathology: Disentangling environmental and inherited influences. Psychological Medicine, 40(2), 335–345. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291709005911.
Rondó, P. H., Ferreira, R. F., Nogueira, F., Ribeiro, M. C. N., Lobert, H., & Artes, R. (2003). Maternal psychological stress and distress as predictors of low birth weight, prematurity and intrauterine growth retardation. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 57(2), 266–272. https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1601526.
Rothbart, M. K. (2007). Temperament, development, and personality. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 16(4), 207–212. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8721.2007.00505.x.
Sanders, M. R., & Woolley, M. L. (2005). The relationship between maternal self-efficacy and parenting practices: Implications for parent training. Child: Care, Health and Development, 31(1), 65–73. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2214.2005.00487.x.
Schneider, M. L. (1992). Prenatal stress exposure alters postnatal behavioral expression under conditions of novelty challenges in rhesus monkey infants. Developmental Psychobiology, 25(7), 529–540. https://doi.org/10.1002/dev.420250706.
Sjöström, K., Valentin, L., Thelin, T., & Maršál, K. (2002). Maternal anxiety in late pregnancy: Effect on fetal movements and fetal heart rate. Early Human Development, 67(1), 87–100. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0378-3782(01)00256-0.
Snidman, N., Kagan, J., Riordan, L., & Shannon, D. (1995). Cardiac function and behavioral reactivity during infancy. Psychophysiology, 32(3), 199–207. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8986.1995.tb02949.x.
Talge, N. M., Neal, C., Glover, V., the Early Stress, & Translational Research and Prevention Science Network: Fetal and Neonatal Experience on Child and Adolescent Mental Health. (2007). Antenatal maternal stress and long-term effects on child neurodevelopment: How and why? Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 48(3–4), 245–261. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.2006.01714.x.
Teti, D. M., & Gelfand, D. M. (1991). Behavioral competence among mothers of infants in the first year: The mediational role of maternal self-efficacy. Child Development, 62(5), 918–929. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.1991.tb01580.x.
Van Praag, H. M. (2005). Can stress cause depression?. The World Journal of Biological Psychiatry, 6, 5–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/15622970510030018.
Verhage, M. L., Oosterman, M., & Schuengel, C. (2013). Parenting self-efficacy predicts perceptions of infant negative temperament characteristics, not vice versa. Journal of Family Psychology, 27(5), 844. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0034263.
Wadhwa, P. D. (2005). Psychoneuroendocrine processes in human pregnancy influence fetal development and health. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 30(8), 724–743. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2005.02.004.
Weinstock, M. (1997). Does prenatal stress impair coping and regulation of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis? Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 21(1), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0149-7634(96)00014-0.
Weinstock, M. (2001). Alterations induced by gestational stress in brain morphology and behaviour of the offspring. Progress in Neurobiology, 65(5), 427–451. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0301-0082(01)00018-1.
Weinstock, M. (2008). The long-term behavioural consequences of prenatal stress. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 32(6), 1073–1086. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2008.03.002.
Weiss, S. J., Jonn-Seed, M. S., & Harris-Muchell, C. (2007). The contribution of fetal drug exposure to temperament: Potential teratogenic effects on neuropsychiatric risk. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 48(8), 773–784. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.2007.01745.x.
Werner, E. A., Myers, M. M., Fifer, W. P., Cheng, B., Fang, Y., Allen, R., & Monk, C. (2007). Prenatal predictors of infant temperament. Developmental Psychobiology, 49(5), 474–484. https://doi.org/10.1002/dev.20232.
Yonkers, K. A., Blackwell, K. A., Glover, J., & Forray, A. (2014). Antidepressant use in pregnant and postpartum women. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 10, 369–392. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-032813-153626.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Section Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
Shigeto, A., Knowles, M., Voltaire, M. (2020). Prenatal Stress and Infant Temperament. In: Zeigler-Hill, V., Shackelford, T.K. (eds) Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-24612-3_447
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-24612-3_447
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-24610-9
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-24612-3
eBook Packages: Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences