Effects of prenatal exposure to maternal cortisol and psychological stress on neonatal development: the GENEIDA mother-infant cohort (Andalusia, Spain).
14 affiliations
- 1Department of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Granada, Granada, Spain.
- 2Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria Ibs. GRANADA, Granada, Spain.
- 3Statistics and Operations Research Department, Faculty of Sciences, University of Granada, Fuente Nueva S/N, 18071, Granada, Spain.
- 4Andalusian School of Public Health (EASP), Granada, Spain.
- 5CIBER Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain.
- 6Department of Pharmacology, University of Granada, Granada, Spain.
- 7Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Hepáticas y Digestivas (CIBERehd), Madrid, Spain.
- 8Department of Legal Medicine and Toxicology, University of Granada School of Medicine, Granada, Spain.
- 9Department of Genetics, Faculty of Sciences, University of Granada, Granada, Spain.
- 10Hospital Univesitario Torrecardenas, Almeria, Spain.
- 11Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University Hospital Poniente, El Ejido, Almeria, Spain.
- 12Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria Ibs. GRANADA, Granada, Spain. [email protected].
- 13Andalusian School of Public Health (EASP), Granada, Spain. [email protected].
- 14CIBER Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain. [email protected].
Abstract
Background
Several studies have shown that high cortisol levels and psychological stress during pregnancy are associated with adverse outcomes in the offspring, including lower gestational age, and neurodevelopmental delays. This study aimed to evaluate the association of hair cortisol levels and psychological maternal stress during pregnancy with anthropometric measures at birth.Methods
Pregnant women were recruited during the first trimester (T1) and followed-up during the second (T2) and third (T3) trimesters, and delivery. Hair samples were collected from the scalp to analyse cortisol levels, while psychological stress and anxiety were assessed through validated instruments during each trimester. From the 800 mother-child pairs participating in the prospective birth cohort < blinded for peer-review > 669 mother-child pairs were selected for this analysis.Results
In males, birth-weight was positively associated with hair cortisol levels (log-10 transformed) during T1 (β = 0.244, 95% CI: 0.028; 0.461, p = 0.027), T2 (β = 0.291, 95% CI: 0.050; 0.531, p = 0.01), and across the entire pregnancy (mean log-10 transformed hair cortisol levels: β = 0.288, 95% CI: 0.007; 0.570, p = 0.01). In females, birth-weight was inversely associated with maternal psychological stress in T1 (β = -0.022, 95% CI: -0.040; -0.003, p = 0.02), while birth length was inversely associated with maternal psychological stress in T2 (β = -0.119, 95% CI: -0.241; 0.003, p = 0.05). Furthermore, maternal anxiety during T3 was associated with an increase in female birth-weight (β = 0.015, 95% CI: 0.002; 0.028, p = 0.02).Conclusions
These findings suggest that elevated hair cortisol levels, along with psychological stress and anxiety during pregnancy, may influence foetal growth and impact on birth anthropometric measurements.
Related
- Prenatal exposure to maternal depression and antidepressants and neurodevelopmental outcomes: A population cohort study
- Reappraising the topology of cell-free fetal DNA in maternal blood toward improved prenatal genetic diagnostics
- The Effect of Prenatal Education and Home Telecare Provided According to Watson Care Model on Spouses’ Readiness for Childbirth, Fear of Childbirth, and Maternal and Paternal Attachment: A Case Report
- Prenatal extreme heat exposure and neonatal mortality in Bangladesh, 2015 to 2025: a national birth-history study
- Cord blood metabolic network profiles link prenatal rare earth element exposure to neurodevelopmental delay in 2-year-old children
BibTeX
@article{caparrosgonzalez2026effects,
title = {{Effects of prenatal exposure to maternal cortisol and psychological stress on neonatal development: the GENEIDA mother-infant cohort (Andalusia, Spain).}},
author = {Rafael A Caparros-Gonzalez and Desirée Romero-Molina and Beatriz González-Alzaga and Raquel Gonzalez-Perez and Antonio F Hernández and Inmaculada Lopez-Flores and María José Gimenez-Asensio and Maria Dolores Sanchez-Piedra and Marina Lacasaña},
journal = {BMC pregnancy and childbirth},
year = {2026},
month = aug,
doi = {10.1186/s12884-026-09229-4},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42963753},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Effects of prenatal exposure to maternal cortisol and psychological stress on neonatal development: the GENEIDA mother-infant cohort (Andalusia, Spain).
AU - Rafael A Caparros-Gonzalez
AU - Desirée Romero-Molina
AU - Beatriz González-Alzaga
AU - Raquel Gonzalez-Perez
AU - Antonio F Hernández
AU - Inmaculada Lopez-Flores
AU - María José Gimenez-Asensio
AU - Maria Dolores Sanchez-Piedra
AU - Marina Lacasaña
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/08/04
JO - BMC pregnancy and childbirth
DO - 10.1186/s12884-026-09229-4
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42963753
AB - Background Several studies have shown that high cortisol levels and psychological stress during pregnancy are associated with adverse outcomes in the offspring, including lower gestational age, and neurodevelopmental delays. This study aimed to evaluate the association of hair cortisol levels and psychological maternal stress during pregnancy with anthropometric measures at birth.Methods Pregnant women were recruited during the first trimester (T1) and followed-up during the second (T2) and third (T3) trimesters, and delivery. Hair samples were collected from the scalp to analyse cortisol levels, while psychological stress and anxiety were assessed through validated instruments during each trimester. From the 800 mother-child pairs participating in the prospective birth cohort < blinded for peer-review > 669 mother-child pairs were selected for this analysis.Results In males, birth-weight was positively associated with hair cortisol levels (log-10 transformed) during T1 (β = 0.244, 95% CI: 0.028; 0.461, p = 0.027), T2 (β = 0.291, 95% CI: 0.050; 0.531, p = 0.01), and across the entire pregnancy (mean log-10 transformed hair cortisol levels: β = 0.288, 95% CI: 0.007; 0.570, p = 0.01). In females, birth-weight was inversely associated with maternal psychological stress in T1 (β = -0.022, 95% CI: -0.040; -0.003, p = 0.02), while birth length was inversely associated with maternal psychological stress in T2 (β = -0.119, 95% CI: -0.241; 0.003, p = 0.05). Furthermore, maternal anxiety during T3 was associated with an increase in female birth-weight (β = 0.015, 95% CI: 0.002; 0.028, p = 0.02).Conclusions These findings suggest that elevated hair cortisol levels, along with psychological stress and anxiety during pregnancy, may influence foetal growth and impact on birth anthropometric measurements.
SN - 1471-2393
ER -