Cortisol During Pregnancy: a Link Between Prenatal Worry and Infant Temperament

Allegra Campagna

doi:10.7273/000005345

Maternal prenatal anxiety is linked with offspring outcomes across the lifespan. A mechanism of this association between maternal anxiety and child development may be elevated cortisol exposure in utero. Cortisol analyses of maternal worry regarding the transition to parenthood and infant temperament factors have not been considered. The current study aimed to address this gap by examining whether maternal hair cortisol concentrations during pregnancy mediate the relationship between worry about the transition to parenthood and infant temperament outcomes. It was hypothesized that maternal worry related to the transition to parenthood would positively correlate with chronic cortisol levels during pregnancy. It was also hypothesized that maternal chronic cortisol levels in pregnancy would positively correlate with infant negative emotionality and negatively associated with positive affect and regulation. It was expected that higher prenatal worry about the postpartum period (i.e., higher Baby-PAWS total score and factors) and higher cortisol levels would uniquely predict higher infant negative affectivity and lower positive affect and regulation in regression models, controlling for critical covariates. It was also predicted that maternal cortisol would mediate the relationship between prenatal worry and infant temperament. Specifically, higher Baby-PAWS total score and factors would indirectly relate to higher infant negative affectivity and lower positive affect and regulation via higher maternal cortisol levels. Secondary data analyses were performed with existing data (N = 28). During their third trimester of pregnancy, participants completed a questionnaire regarding worry about the transition to parenthood, Baby-PAWS. A hair cortisol sample of the participants was collected at 36-weeks of gestation. Participants answered follow-up questions about their infant’s temperament at approximately two months postpartum. Results did not support any hypothesized relationships between Baby-PAWS, infant temperament at two months, and chronic cortisol concentrations.

Cortisol During Pregnancy: a Link Between Prenatal Worry and Infant Temperament

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