Prenatal Stress and Offspring Health Outcomes

Abstract

Pregnant women may encounter perceived stress, life events, depression, anxiety, occupational stress, trauma, and even psychosocial health problems such as anxiety and depressive symptoms. This stress not only affects the health of mothers but further leads to negative health outcomes in offspring (infants, children, and adults). In this chapter, results of studies on relationships between prenatal maternal stress and offspring health outcomes have been discussed according to different lifetime points of offspring. The negative effects of prenatal maternal stress on offspring health are solid, and follow-up investigations are required to explore the long-term effects of prenatal stress on later-life health outcomes.