title: Maternal antenatal anxiety, postnatal stroking and emotional problems in children: outcomes predicted from pre- and postnatal programming hypotheses.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Mothers' self-reported stroking of their infants over the first weeks of life modifies the association between prenatal depression and physiological and emotional reactivity at 7 months, consistent with animal studies of the effects of tactile stimulation. We now investigate whether the effects of maternal stroking persist to 2.5 years. Given animal and human evidence for sex differences in the effects of prenatal stress we compare associations in boys and girls.
  
  
  METHODS
  From a general population sample of 1233 first-time mothers recruited at 20 weeks gestation we drew a random sample of 316 for assessment at 32 weeks, stratified by reported inter-partner psychological abuse, a risk indicator for child development. Of these mothers, 243 reported at 5 and 9 weeks how often they stroked their infants, and completed the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) at 2.5 years post-delivery.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was a significant interaction between prenatal anxiety and maternal stroking in the prediction of CBCL internalizing (p = 0.001) and anxious/depressed scores (p < 0.001). The effects were stronger in females than males, and the three-way interaction prenatal anxiety × maternal stroking × sex of infant was significant for internalizing symptoms (p = 0.003). The interactions arose from an association between prenatal anxiety and internalizing symptoms only in the presence of low maternal stroking.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The findings are consistent with stable epigenetic effects, many sex specific, reported in animal studies. While epigenetic mechanisms may be underlying the associations, it remains to be established whether stroking affects gene expression in humans.
authors: Institute of Psychology, Health and Society,University of Liverpool,Liverpool,UK.
authors: H
authors: H
authors: Sharp
authors: Institute of Brain, Behaviour and Mental Health,University of Manchester,Manchester,UK.
authors: J
authors: J
authors: Hill
authors: Institute of Psychiatry,King's College London,London,UK.
authors: J
authors: J
authors: Hellier
authors: Institute of Psychiatry,King's College London,London,UK.
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Pickles
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000628:therapy*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003863:Depression / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D009034:Mother-Child Relations / Q000523:psychology*; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D011379:Prognosis; D057566:Self Report; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D014110:Touch / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Internalizing problems; prenatal anxiety; programming effects; sex differences; stroking