Prenatal maternal blood pressure response to stress predicts birth weight and gestational age: A preliminary study

McCubbin, James A.; Lawson, Erma Jean; Cox, Susan; Sherman, Jeffrey J.; Norton, Jane A.; Read, John A.

doi:10.1053/ob.1996.v175.a74286

Cited by 58 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 20 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…48 The length of gestation has been linked with maternal plasma CRH levels, 49 and stress-related pretermdelivery is thought to be mediated by changes in CRH and glucocorticoid secretion. 50,51 There is good evidence that prenatal glucocorticoid exposure alters not only the development of the HPAA but also sympathetic innervation 52 and cardiac noradrenergic and sympathetic processes. 53 It is therefore possible that the associations between gestational age and altered BP reactivity reflect prenatal alterations in fetal glucocorticoid exposure and resulting phenotypic differences in the neuroendocrine responses to stressors.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cardiovascular reactivity to psychological stressors in late adulthood is predicted by gestational age at birth

Feldt

Räikkönen

Eriksson³

et al. 2007

J Hum Hypertens

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The relationships of body size and gestational age at birth with adult blood pressure (BP) are relatively modest compared to their stronger associations with cardiovascular disease. BP reactivity is a strong predictor of cardiovascular morbidity, and it is possible that reactivity, rather than resting level, is determined in utero. We investigated whether body size and gestational age at birth predict BP reactivity during experimentally induced psychosocial stress in late adulthood. A total of 73 men and 80 women born after 36 weeks' gestation in Helsinki, Finland, during 1934-1944 underwent the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST); a standardized psychosocial stress test consisting of a public speech and an arithmetic task. Changes in BP were monitored continuously by a non-invasive finger photoplethysmography (Finometer, FMS, Amsterdam, The Netherlands). The results showed that the most robust early determinant of BP reactivity was gestational age; however, with opposite relationships between the sexes (P for interaction o0.001). A 1-week increase in gestational age was associated with a 3.1 mm Hg (95% confidence interval (CI), 0.2 to 6.0) and 1.2 mm Hg (95% CI, À0.1 to 2.6) decreases in systolic and diastolic BP reactivity in women, but with 5.2 mm Hg (95% CI, 1.9 to 8.4) and 2.3 mm Hg (95% CI, 0.9 to 3.8) increases in men. In conclusion, normal variation in gestational age at birth predicts cardiovascular stress reactivity in later adulthood. Given that hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis contributes to the regulation of autonomic nervous system function and the timing of parturition, and shows well-established sex differences, we speculate a role for early programming of this axis in explaining the findings.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cardiovascular reactivity to psychological stressors in late adulthood is predicted by gestational age at birth

Feldt

Räikkönen

Eriksson³

et al. 2007

J Hum Hypertens

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…LBW and low weight for gestational age are often used as a proxy for maternal stress. Prenatal maternal stress is associated with babies with lower birth weights, [45][46][47][48] and pregnant women with higher blood pressure stress responses have smaller babies, 49 likely owing to restricted blood flow to the uterus during times of stress. 50,51 LBW has been linked to many diseases in adulthood.…”

Section: Birth Weightmentioning

confidence: 99%

Life Course Perspectives on the Epidemiology of Depression

2010

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

I n the 1980s, David Barker and colleagues (see Barker 1,2 and Barker et al 3,4) used hospital records from Hertfordshire, England, to link LBW to cardiovascular and respiratory disease later in life. They posited that certain adverse conditions in the womb can set the fetus on a pathway to lifelong ill health, a theory which became known as the fetal programming hypothesis. This groundbreaking work was a keystone in the foundation of the burgeoning field of life course epidemiology, which seeks to understand how determinants of health and disease interact across the span of a human life. 5,6 Although the idea that events in early life can shape the developing mind has been a cornerstone of psychiatry since Freud's time, using the life course approach to understand etiological frameworks in mental illness has only been

show abstract

“…Chronic stress exposure for pregnant women affects fetal development, resulting in preterm birth and low birth weight [1][2][3][4]. In addition to stress, persistent negative maternal emotions during pregnancy such as anxiety, depression and anger also exert an influence on fetal and later development of a child [5][6][7][8][9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fetal response to induced maternal emotions

Araki

Nishitani

Ushimaru³

et al. 2010

J Physiol Sci

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This study investigated the relationship between fetal movements and acute maternal emotional changes during pregnancy. Two empirically validated feature film clips were used for the external generation of two subjectively and facially well-characterized target emotions: happiness and sadness. We simultaneously monitored separate fetal arm, leg and trunk movements by means 2 of two ultrasound apparatuses while maternal emotions were manipulated by film clip presentation. The number of fetal arm movements, but not the duration, was increased when pregnant women were being shown a happy film. Both the number and the duration of fetal arm movements decreased with the sad film presentation. Neither the presentation of happiness nor the presentation of sadness affected fetal leg or trunk movements. These findings suggest that induced emotions in pregnant women primarily affect arm movements of their fetuses, and that positive and negative emotions have the opposite effects on fetus movement.

show abstract

Prenatal maternal blood pressure response to stress predicts birth weight and gestational age: A preliminary study

Cited by 58 publications

References 20 publications

Cardiovascular reactivity to psychological stressors in late adulthood is predicted by gestational age at birth

Cardiovascular reactivity to psychological stressors in late adulthood is predicted by gestational age at birth

Life Course Perspectives on the Epidemiology of Depression

Fetal response to induced maternal emotions

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About