Mechanisms underlying the effects of prenatal psychosocial stress on child outcomes: beyond the HPA axis

• Published in: European child & adolescent psychiatry Vol. 23; no. 10; pp. 943 - 956
• Main Authors: Beijers, Roseriet, Buitelaar, Jan K., de Weerth, Carolina
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.10.2014; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Animals; Anxiety; Anxiety - immunology; Anxiety - psychology; Behavior; Birth weight; Catecholamines - physiology; Child; Child & adolescent psychiatry; Child and Adolescent Psychiatry; Child Development; Female; Fetuses; Humans; Hydrocortisone - physiology; Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System - physiopathology; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Physiology; Pituitary-Adrenal System - physiopathology; Pregnancy; Premature birth; Psychiatry; Psychopathology; Review; Stress; Stress, Psychological - immunology; Stress, Psychological - physiopathology; Mechanisms; Anxiety; HPA axis; Child outcomes; Prenatal stress

Accumulating evidence from preclinical and clinical studies indicates that maternal psychosocial stress and anxiety during pregnancy adversely affect child outcomes. However, knowledge on the possible mechanisms underlying these relations is limited. In the present paper, we review the most often pr...