Emotional stress in pregnancy predicts human infant reactivity

BACKGROUND: Infant distress to novelty at 4 months of life has previously been identified as an important predictor of longer term emotional development in childhood and adolescence. AIM: To investigate the relationship between prenatal stress and infant reactivity to unfamiliar visual, auditory and olfactory stimuli. STUDY DESIGN: Maternal emotional stress, life events and medical adversities during pregnancy and maternal personality characteristics were assessed by interview, questionnaire and patient charts at 2 weeks postnatal age. Postnatal maternal psychopathology was assessed at 2 weeks and 4 months postnatal age. Infant outcome was examined 4 months postnatally. SUBJECTS: 102 mother-infant pairs were recruited in local obstetric units, complete datasets were available for 96 mother-infant-pairs. OUTCOME MEASURE: Infant reactivity to unfamiliar stimuli was assessed when the infants were 4 months postnatal age. RESULTS: Maternal prenatal emotional stress was significantly associated with infant affective reactivity to novelty. Maternal postnatal psychopathology did not have an influence on affective infant reactivity. CONCLUSIONS: These data provide evidence for an impact of maternal emotional stress in pregnancy on early infant distress to novel stimuli, a behavioral trait whose stability throughout childhood and adolescence has previously been demonstrated.