Influence of maternal stress on the development of the fetal genital system

During the last trimester of pregnancy, rat mothers were exposed to various forms of stress including immobilization-illumination, crowding and cold. At birth, male offspring from all experimental groups showed a shortened anogenital distance. In addition, offspring of mothers exposed to immobilization-illumination or cold showed reduced weight of body, testis and adrenals. It was suggested that corticosteroids secreted by the stressed mother suppressed gonadal secretions of the male fetus, thereby interfering with the sexual differentiation.