The developmental origins of mental illness are incompletely understood. Although the development of autism and schizophrenia are linked to infections during fetal life, it is unknown whether more common psychiatric conditions such as depression might begin in utero. OBJECTIVE To estimate the risk of psychopathologic conditions imparted from fetal exposure to any maternal infection while hospitalized during pregnancy.

Background Maternal caffeine intake has repeatedly been linked to babies being born small for gestational age (SGA). SGA babies are known to be at increased risk for adverse neonatal outcomes. The aim of this study was to explore the associations between prenatal caffeine exposure and neonatal health. Methods The study is based on 67,569 full-term singleton mother-infant pairs from the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study. Caffeine consumption from different sources was self-reported in gestational week 22. Neonatal compound outcomes, namely (1) morbidity/mortality and (2) neonatal intervention, were created based on the Medical Birth Registry of Norway. Adjusted logistic regression was performed. Results Caffeine exposure was associated to SGA (OR = 1.16, 95%CI: 1.10; 1.23) and being born SGA was significantly associated with neonatal health (OR = 3.09, 95%CI: 2.54; 3.78 for morbidity/mortality; OR = 3.94, 95%CI: 3.50; 4.45 for intervention). However, prenatal caffeine exposure was neither associated with neonatal morbidity/mortality (OR = 1.01, 95%CI: 0.96; 1.07) nor neonatal intervention (OR = 1.02, 95%CI: 1.00; 1.05 for a 100 mg caffeine intake increase). Results did not change after additional adjustment for SGA status. Conclusions Moderate prenatal caffeine exposure (< 200 mg/day) does not seem to impair neonatal health, although prenatal caffeine exposure is associated with the child being born SGA and SGA with neonatal health. We suggest diversity in neonatal outcomes of SGA infants according to the underlying cause of low birth weight. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12884-019-2215-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The timing of parturition is crucial for neonatal survival and infant health. Yet, its genetic basis remains largely unresolved. We present a maternal genome-wide meta-analysis of gestational duration (n = 195,555), identifying 22 associated loci (24 independent variants) and an enrichment in genes differentially expressed during labor. A meta-analysis of preterm delivery (18,797 cases, 260,246 controls) revealed six associated loci and large genetic similarities with gestational duration. Analysis of the parental transmitted and nontransmitted alleles (n = 136,833) shows that 15 of the gestational duration genetic variants act through the maternal genome, whereas 7 act both through the maternal and fetal genomes and 2 act only via the fetal genome. Finally, the maternal effects on gestational duration show signs of antagonistic pleiotropy with the fetal effects on birth weight: maternal alleles that increase gestational duration have negative fetal effects on birth weight. The present study provides insights into the genetic effects on the timing of parturition and the complex maternal–fetal relationship between gestational duration and birth weight.

The timing of parturition is crucial for neonatal survival and infant health. Yet, its genetic basis remains largely unresolved. We present a maternal genome-wide meta-analysis of the timing of parturition, identifying 22 loci associated with gestational duration (n = 195,555) and 6 with preterm delivery (cases = 18,797, controls = 260,246). We observed modest differences in the genetic effects between gestational duration and preterm delivery, with most loci shared between the two. Analysis of the transmitted and non-transmitted parental alleles (n = 136,833) shows that 15 of the identified variants act through the maternal genome, while nine have fetal or both maternal and fetal effects. We observe a sex-specific genetic link between testosterone (negative) and sex hormone-binding globulin (positive) on the timing of parturition, likely due to pleiotropic effects. Finally, we provide evidence of maternal-fetal antagonistic effects on gestational duration and birth weight: maternal alleles that increase gestational duration have negative effects on birth weight when present in the fetus.

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