Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
New researchThinking Across Generations: Unique Contributions of Maternal Early Life and Prenatal Stress to Infant Physiology
Section snippets
ANS Activity and Stress Regulation
Emotional and biobehavioral self-regulation is moderated by the interaction of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS), components of the ANS that work in dynamic balance to promote homeostasis.11, 12 Respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) is an index of PNS activity10 and can be measured by baseline activity, indicating the potential to engage with the environment, or by reactivity, reflecting stimulus response.13 Both baseline and reactivity are
Study Participants
The current report includes 167 infants (49% female) of mothers (61% African American, 39% white) enrolled in a longitudinal study. Recruitment of pregnant women (18–41 years) took place in prenatal and Women, Infant, and Children (WIC) clinics and from other studies. Mothers were >18 years of age (mean = 28.17, SD = 5.82), and only English-speaking mothers were recruited. Gestational age ranged from 32 to 43 weeks (mean = 39.04, SD = 1.63). Twelve infants were born preterm (<37 weeks; 10 late
Results
Correlations and descriptive statistics are presented in Table 1; a total of 113 infants (67%) were low on both ACEs and prenatal stress, 44 (26%) high on one indicator, and 10 (6%) high on both. Boys and girls were equally likely to be classified as high prenatal stress, χ2(2, N = 167) = 0.34, p = .56 (boys n = 18, girls n = 16), and high ACEs, χ2(2, N = 167) = 0.03, p = .86 (boys n = 15, girls n = 15). Prenatal stress and ACEs did not differ between African American and white mothers
Discussion
This study describes how a mother’s exposures across her lifespan influence her offspring’s SRS, likely altering future risk for psychopathology and health. Although both maternal ACEs and prenatal stress predicted infant RSA at 4 months of age, their effects differed. Prenatal stress influenced RSA reactivity over time with infants whose mothers reported high prenatal stress, demonstrating persistent RSA suppression following removal of the stressor, consistent with previous literature.2, 4
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This article is discussed in an editorial by Dr. James F. Leckman on page 914.
An interview with the author is available by podcast at www.jaacap.org or by scanning the QR code to the right.
This research was supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) R01MH101533 (S.S.D.), K12HD043451 (S.A.O.G.; PI: Krousel-Wood), and L30HD085275 (S.A.O.G.). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH.
Disclosure: Dr. Gray has received research funding from the National Institutes of Health, the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression, and the Louisiana Board of Regents. Dr. Theall has received research funding from the National Institutes of Health, the Kellogg Foundation, and the Health Resources and Services Administration. Dr. Drury has received research funding from the National Institutes of Health, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Tulane University, the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, the National Science Foundation, and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Mr. Jones and Ms. Glackin report no biomedical financial interests or potential conflicts of interest.