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A
number of recent reports have documented a relation between maternal stress
or anxiety during pregnancy with later neonatal and infant outcome measures
(e.g., Monk et al., 2000). Although perceptions of stress during
pregnancy have been related to poorer birth outcomes and greater neonatal
reactivity and irritability (e.g., DaCosta et al., 1998; Field, 1991; Gorshuch
& Key, 1974), little work has been conducted to examine the physiological
mechanisms that underlie the relation between maternal stress during pregnancy
and behaviors of the young infant. Similarly, little research has
been conducted to examine the effect of stress on human development or
to examine the long-term consequences associated with prenatal stress exposure
even though neuroendocrine changes associated with the stress response
have been shown to have profound bodily effects. Further, animal
studies have shown that prenatal stress exposure is associated with life-long
elevations in blood pressure (Hoet & Hanson, 1999) and higher behavioral
reactivity to environmental demands (e.g., Roughton et al., 1998; Schneider,
1992). The possibility that prenatal stress exposures may affect
vulnerabilities to illnesses or to behavioral phenomena that predispose
one to such illnesses has not been shown in humans. This project
will prospectively examine the effect of stress exposure during fetal development
on neonatal health and later infant behavioral and physiological reactivity
in response to challenging tasks. Specifically, this project will
examine the effect of maternal stress during pregnancy on birth outcome
measures, infant heart rate reactivity to mildly stimulating tasks, infant
heart rate at rest, and infant behavioral reactivity to environmental demands.
Maternal stress during the third trimester of pregnancy is expected to
predict lower birth weight, shorter body length, and smaller head circumference
at birth. Further, lower APGAR scores are predicted for neonates
born to mothers with high levels of catecholamines during the third trimester.
Likewise, higher catecholamine levels during the third trimester of pregnancy
are expected to predict greater physiological and behavioral |
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WORD VERSION)
