Researcher from Cardiff and the Netherlands find, in a prospective, longitudinal study of 158 women undergoing amniocentesis, “one of the few studies to simultaneously assess the role of maternal and and amniotic fluid cortisol on birth outcomes and infant emotional development,” that maternal cortisol was related to amniotic cortisol, which in turn was associated with lower birth weight as well as infant fear and distress. The authors suggest that “foetal cortisol may be an important predictor of infant outcomes and shed light on the mechanisms through with prenatal maternal stress affects infant psychological health.”
Abstract → Baibazarova, E., van de Beek, C., et al; Influence of prenatal maternal stress, maternal plasma cortisol and cortisol in the amniotic fluid on birth outcomes and child temperament at 3 months. Psychoneuroendocrinology. Online October 7, 2012
