title: Maternal depression and foetal responses to novel stimuli: insights from a socio-economically disadvantaged Indian cohort.
abstract: Maternal stress during pregnancy has pervasive effects on stress responsivity in children. This study is the first to test the hypothesis that maternal prenatal depression, as observed in South India, may be associated with how foetuses respond to a potentially stressful stimulus. We employed measures of foetal heart rate at baseline, during exposure to a vibroacoustic stimulus, and post-stimulation, to study patterns of response and recovery in 133 third trimester foetuses of depressed and non-depressed mothers. We show that the association between maternal depression and foetal stress responsivity is U-shaped with foetuses of mothers with high and low depression scores demonstrating elevated responses, and poorer recovery, than foetuses of mothers with moderate levels. The right amount of intra-uterine stimulation is important in conditioning foetuses towards optimal regulation of their stress response. Our results imply that, in certain environmental contexts, exposure to moderate amounts of intra-uterine stress may facilitate this process.
authors.affiliation: 1 Nuffield Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Women's Centre, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fernandes
authors.affiliation: 2 Department of Psychiatry, Warneford Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Stein
authors.affiliation: 3 St. John's Research Institute, St. John's National Academy of Health Sciences, Bangalore, India.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Srinivasan
authors.affiliation: 4 Snehalaya Socio-Medical Relief Centre, Snehalaya Hospital, Solur, Karnataka, India.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Menezes
authors.affiliation: 2 Department of Psychiatry, Warneford Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Renton
authors.affiliation: 5Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College, London, UK.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zani
authors.affiliation: 5Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College, London, UK.
authors.forename: P G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Ramchandani
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000191:economics* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006340:Heart Rate, Fetal / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000191:economics* / Q000523:psychology*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D035862:Vulnerable Populations / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult