title: Maternal stress in pregnancy and its effect on the human foetus: an overview of research findings.
abstract: There is evidence from human studies that anxiety or stress during pregnancy can affect birth outcome, causing babies to be born earlier and possibly smaller for gestational age. There is also some suggestive evidence for longer-term behavioural problems. Animal studies indicate that antenatal stress does have a long-term effect on the behaviour of the offspring, including a hyper-responsive hypothalamo-pituitary -adrenal axis. The human foetus can mount an independent stress response from mid-gestation. Two possible mechanisms have been demonstrated by which maternal stress or anxiety may affect the human foetus, the passage of cortisol across the placenta, and an impairment of blood flow through the maternal uterine arteries.
authors.affiliation: Fetal and Neonatal Stress Research Centre, Instiiute of Reproductive and Developmental Biology, Imperial College School of Medicine, Hammersmith Campus, Du Cane Road, London W12ONN, UK.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gitau
authors.forename: N M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Fisk
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Glover
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001007:Anxiety / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000097:blood; D008425:Maternal Behavior; D008431:Maternal-Fetal Exchange; D021041:Placental Circulation; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000097:blood / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D055988:Uterine Artery / Q000503:physiopathology
chemical_list: D006854:Hydrocortisone