Perceived maternal stress during pregnancy affects newborn development in a low-income cohort of pregnant women

FRASCH, MARTIN G.; L PUPELIS; BERG G; ANTONELLI, MARTA C.; MARIA AURELIA GONZALEZ; PATRICIA REY; MV BINDA; SANDRA SUSACASA; BROCCO, MARCELA A.; MERCEDES RUMI; E PETZIL; BIBIANA FABRE

Congreso; International Federation of Placenta Associations (IFPA 2019) -VIII Latin American Symposium on Maternal-Fetal Interaction and Placenta (VIII SLIMP).; 2019

Objective: Our main objective is to test the feasibility of using a biomarker panel to detect prenatal stress (PS) induced epigenetic reprogramming of the infant brain affecting neurocognitive development. Methods: Prospective case-control study matched for maternal age, parity and gestational age from 28 weeks to term was carried out at the Hospital Materno Infantil Ramón Sarda (CEI Protocol 09/2015). Using the Cohen Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) questionnaire, pregnant women with PSS-10 ≥ 19 were classified as stress group (SG) and a PSS-10 < 19 as control group (CG). Upon delivery, newborn saliva samples and maternal hair were collected. One month after birth, children were evaluated with Bayley Scale of Infant Development (BSID) and the mothers with the Edinburgh Post-partum Depression Scale (EPDS). A new saliva sample was obtained.Results: A previous pilot study showed 26% of stressed pregnant women, in agreement with the literature. In this study, 51 questionnaires were administered but 34/51 patients (66.7 %) did not meet the eligibility criteria upon delivery. 12 women with a PSS < 19 (CG) and 8 with PSS ≥ 19 (SG) were finally recruited. According to the Graffar scale, most participants from both groups were classified as stratum IV (low-income). No differences were found in maternal IMC nor in newborn weight at birth. Maternal hair cortisol was 192.0 for CG (49.0-295.0) versus 237.7 for SG (61.0-474.0) pg/mg (p=0.44). In the SG group, maternal age was lower than in CG (p = 0.035). Mothers from the SG group showed higher EPDS scores than CG (p = 0.01). Notably, among babies born from stressed mothers, BSID Motor scale showed a significant reduction (p = 0.01). Conclusion: Maternal perceived stress during pregnancy correlated with one-month old babies impaired motor development. This preliminary study suggests a direct transgenerational transmission of PS onto offspring development.