Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Rinne, Gabrielle R.
• Hartstein, Jenna
• Guardino, Christine M.
• Dunkel Schetter, Christine

Titel

Stress before conception and during pregnancy and maternal cortisol during pregnancy: A scoping review

Ist Teil von

• Psychoneuroendocrinology, 2023-07, Vol.153, p.106115-106115, Article 106115

Ort / Verlag

England: Elsevier Ltd

Erscheinungsjahr

2023

Link zum Volltext

Quelle

MEDLINE

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Stress before conception and during pregnancy is associated with less favorable maternal and child health. Alterations in prenatal cortisol levels may serve as a central biological pathway linking stress to adverse maternal and child health. Research examining associations between maternal stress from childhood through pregnancy and prenatal cortisol has not been comprehensively reviewed. The current scoping review of 48 papers synthesizes studies reporting on associations between stress before conception and during pregnancy with maternal cortisol in pregnancy. Eligible studies measured childhood, the proximal preconception period, pregnancy, or lifetime stress based on stress exposures or appraisals and measured cortisol in saliva or hair during pregnancy. Higher maternal childhood stress was associated with higher cortisol awakening responses and alterations in typical pregnancy-specific changes in diurnal cortisol patterns across studies. In contrast, most studies of preconception and prenatal stress reported null associations with cortisol and those reporting significant effects were inconsistent in direction. A few studies found that the associations between stress and cortisol during pregnancy varied as a function of several moderators including social support and environmental pollution. Although many studies have evaluated effects of maternal stress on prenatal cortisol, this scoping review is the first to synthesize existing literature on this topic. The association between stress before conception and during pregnancy and prenatal cortisol may depend on the developmental timing of stress and several moderators. Maternal childhood stress was more consistently associated with prenatal cortisol than proximal preconception or pregnancy stress. We discuss methodological and analytic factors that may contribute to mixed findings. •Prenatal cortisol may link maternal stress to adverse maternal and fetal health.•We review studies examining links of stress before and during pregnancy with prenatal cortisol.•Childhood stress was associated with indices of and changes in diurnal cortisol across pregnancy.•Associations of stress proximal to and during pregnancy with cortisol were less consistent.•Associations of stress and cortisol in pregnancy vary depending on several moderators.