Consequences of developmental stress in humans: Prenatal stress

Abstract

Stress is a phenomenon which can occur throughout the entire life span. There is ample evidence of prenatal programming, i.e., in utero experiences may have long-term consequences for the unborn child. In this chapter, human studies are reviewed regarding the impact of various sources of prenatal stress on various outcomes in infants. Recent findings suggest that prenatal stress is predominately associated with maladaptive consequences, such as negative birth outcomes, altered physiological stress responses, behavior problems, and impaired cognitive and motor development. There is some evidence for genetic predisposition and stressbuffering factors which protect the unborn child from negative effects of prenatal stress. A psychobiological stress model is proposed to integrate the findings.