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Does Maternal Prenatal Stress Adversely Affect the Child’s Learning and Memory at Age Six?

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Abstract

Prenatal maternal stress has been shown to affect postnatal development in animals and humans. In animals, the morphology and function of the offspring’s hippocampus is negatively affected by prenatal maternal stress. The present study prospectively investigated the influence of prenatal maternal stress on learning and memory of 112 children (50 boys, 62 girls, Age: M=6.7 years, SD=8.4 months), with the Test of Memory and Learning (TOMAL). Maternal stress levels were determined three times during pregnancy by self-report questionnaires. Furthermore, maternal saliva cortisol samples were used as a measure of hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis functioning. Results of hierarchical multivariate regression analyses showed that maternal life events measured during the first part of pregnancy were negatively associated with the child’s attention/concentration index, while controlling for overall IQ, gender, and postnatal stress. No associations were found between prenatal maternal cortisol and the offspring’s learning and memory.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to express their gratitude to the parents and children who participated in this study, to Anja C. Huizink and Pascale G. Robles de Medina for data collection in the prenatal phase, to Reinier K. J. Hoogendorp for his helpful comments, and to the Van der Gaag Stichting (KNAW) and the Praeventie fonds for financial support (Zorg Onderzoek Nederland, 28-2685).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Utrecht University Medical Center and the Rudolf Magnus Institute of Neuroscience, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Barbara M. Gutteling

  2. Department of Psychiatry (961), Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, P.O. Box 9101, 6500 HB, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    Barbara M. Gutteling & Jan K. Buitelaar

  3. Department of Developmental Psychology, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    Carolina de Weerth

  4. Department of Psychiatry, Radboud University Nijmegen University Medical Centre, Nijmegen and Department of Developmental Psychology, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    Noortje Zandbelt

  5. Department of Perinatology and Gynaecology, Utrecht University Medical Center, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Eduard J. H. Mulder & Gerard H. A. Visser

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  1. Barbara M. Gutteling
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  2. Carolina de Weerth
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  4. Eduard J. H. Mulder
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  5. Gerard H. A. Visser
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  6. Jan K. Buitelaar
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Correspondence to Barbara M. Gutteling.

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Gutteling, B.M., de Weerth, C., Zandbelt, N. et al. Does Maternal Prenatal Stress Adversely Affect the Child’s Learning and Memory at Age Six?. J Abnorm Child Psychol 34, 787–796 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-006-9054-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-006-9054-7

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