Disaster-related prenatal maternal stress influences birth outcomes: Project Ice Storm

2011 ◽  
Vol 87 (12) ◽  
pp. 813-820 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelsey N. Dancause ◽  
David P. Laplante ◽  
Carolina Oremus ◽  
Sarah Fraser ◽  
Alain Brunet ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Birth Outcomes ◽  
Maternal Stress ◽  
Ice Storm ◽  
Prenatal Maternal Stress ◽  
Stress Influences

scholarly journals Prenatal Maternal Stress Predicts Childhood Asthma in Girls: Project Ice Storm

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne-Marie Turcotte-Tremblay ◽  
Robert Lim ◽  
David P. Laplante ◽  
Lester Kobzik ◽  
Alain Brunet ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Events ◽  
Childhood Asthma ◽  
Maternal Stress ◽  
Small Study ◽  
Ice Storm ◽  
Prenatal Maternal Stress ◽  
Subjective Distress ◽  
Immune Functioning ◽  
Asthma Symptoms ◽  
Asthma Risk

Little is known about how prenatal maternal stress (PNMS) influences risks of asthma in humans. In this small study, we sought to determine whether disaster-related PNMS would predict asthma risk in children. In June 1998, we assessed severity of objective hardship and subjective distress in women pregnant during the January 1998 Quebec Ice Storm. Lifetime asthma symptoms, diagnoses, and corticosteroid utilization were assessed when the children were 12 years old (N=68). No effects of objective hardship or timing of the exposure were found. However, we found that, in girls only, higher levels of prenatal maternal subjective distress predicted greater lifetime risk of wheezing (OR=1.11; 90% CI = 1.01–1.23), doctor-diagnosed asthma (OR=1.09; 90% CI = 1.00–1.19), and lifetime utilization of corticosteroids (OR=1.12; 90% CI = 1.01–1.25). Other perinatal and current maternal life events were also associated with asthma outcomes. Findings suggest that stress during pregnancy opens a window for fetal programming of immune functioning. A sex-based approach may be useful to examine how prenatal and postnatal environments combine to program the immune system. This small study needs to be replicated with a larger, more representative sample.

Effects of maternal exposure to acute stress on birth outcomes: a quasi-experiment study

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Asma Ahmed ◽  
Suzanne King ◽  
Guillaume Elgbeili ◽  
David P. Laplante ◽  
Seungmi Yang
Keyword(s):  
Birth Outcomes ◽  
Gestational Age ◽  
Acute Stress ◽  
Maternal Stress ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Substantial Effect ◽  
Maternal Exposure ◽  
Large For Gestational Age ◽  
Ice Storm ◽  
Quasi Experimental

Abstract Numerous studies have shown associations between maternal stress and poor birth outcomes, but evidence is unclear for causal inference. Natural disasters provide an opportunity to study effects of quasi-randomized hardship with an accurate measure of onset and duration. In a population-based quasi-experimental study, we examined the effect of maternal exposure to the January 1998 Québec ice storm on birth outcomes by comparing pregnant mothers who lived in an area hard hit by the ice storm with those in two unaffected regions. In a total of 147,349 singleton births between 1995 and 2001, we used a difference-in-differences method to estimate the effects of the ice storm on gestational age at delivery (GA), preterm birth (PTB), weight-for-gestational-age z-scores (BWZ), large for gestational age (LGA), and small for gestational age (SGA). After adjusting for maternal and sociodemographic characteristics, there were no differences between the exposed and the unexposed mothers for birth outcomes. The estimated differences (exposed vs. unexposed) were 0.01 SDs (95% CI: −0.02, 0.05) for BWZ; 0.10% point (95% CI: −0.95%, 1.16%) for SGA; 0.25% point (95% CI: −0.78%, 1.28%) for LGA; −0.01 week (95% CI: −0.07, 0.05) for GA; and 0.16% point (95% CI: −0.66%, 0.97%) for PTB. Neither trimester-specific nor dose–response associations were observed. Overall, exposure to the 1998 Québec ice storm as a proxy for acute maternal stress in pregnancy was not associated with poor birth outcomes. Our results suggest that acute maternal hardship may not have a substantial effect on adverse birth outcomes.

scholarly journals Prenatal maternal stress and birth outcomes in rural Ghana: sex-specific associations

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth Ayuurebobi Ae-Ngibise ◽  
Blair J. Wylie ◽  
Ellen Boamah-Kaali ◽  
Darby W. Jack ◽  
Felix Boakye Oppong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Birth Weight ◽  
Birth Outcomes ◽  
Fetal Growth ◽  
Head Circumference ◽  
Maternal Stress ◽  
Birth Outcome ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Adverse Birth Outcome ◽  
Prenatal Maternal Stress ◽  
Rural Ghana

Abstract Background In developed countries, prenatal maternal stress has been associated with poor fetal growth, however this has not been evaluated in rural sub-Saharan Africa. We evaluated the effect of prenatal maternal stress on fetal growth and birth outcomes in rural Ghana. Methods Leveraging a prospective, rural Ghanaian birth cohort, we ascertained prenatal maternal negative life events, categorized scores as 0-2 (low stress; referent), 3-5 (moderate), and > 5 (high) among 353 pregnant women in the Kintampo North Municipality and Kintampo South District located within the middle belt of Ghana. We employed linear regression to determine associations between prenatal maternal stress and infant birth weight, head circumference, and length. We additionally examined associations between prenatal maternal stress and adverse birth outcome, including low birth weight, small for gestational age, or stillbirth. Effect modification by infant sex was examined. Results In all children, high prenatal maternal stress was associated with reduced birth length (β = − 0.91, p = 0.04; p-value for trend = 0.04). Among girls, moderate and high prenatal maternal stress was associated with reduced birth weight (β = − 0.16, p = 0.02; β = − 0.18, p = 0.04 respectively; p-value for trend = 0.04) and head circumference (β = − 0.66, p = 0.05; β = − 1.02, p = 0.01 respectively; p-value for trend = 0.01). In girls, high prenatal stress increased odds of any adverse birth outcome (OR 2.41, 95% CI 1.01-5.75; p for interaction = 0.04). Sex-specific analyses did not demonstrate significant effects in boys. Conclusions All infants, but especially girls, were vulnerable to effects of prenatal maternal stress on birth outcomes. Understanding risk factors for impaired fetal growth may help develop preventative public health strategies. Trial registration NCT01335490 (prospective registration). Date of Registration: April 14, 2011. Status of Registration: Completed.

Prenatal maternal stress predicts autism traits in 6½ year-old children: Project Ice Storm

2014 ◽  
Vol 219 (2) ◽  
pp. 353-360 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deborah J. Walder ◽  
David P. Laplante ◽  
Alexandra Sousa-Pires ◽  
Franz Veru ◽  
Alain Brunet ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Maternal Stress ◽  
Ice Storm ◽  
Prenatal Maternal Stress ◽  
Autism Traits

Prenatal maternal stress from a natural disaster predicts dermatoglyphic asymmetry in humans

2009 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 343-353 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suzanne King ◽  
Adham Mancini-Marïe ◽  
Alain Brunet ◽  
Elaine Walker ◽  
Michael J. Meaney ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Natural Disaster ◽  
Maternal Stress ◽  
Significant Negative Correlation ◽  
Target Group ◽  
Ice Storm ◽  
Prenatal Maternal Stress ◽  
Lower Stress ◽  
The Face ◽  
Normal Controls ◽  
Objective Stress

AbstractDermatoglyphic asymmetry of fingertip ridge counts is more frequent in schizophrenia patients than normal controls, and may reflect disruptions in fetal development during Weeks 14–22 when fingerprints develop. However, there are no data in humans linking specific adverse events at specific times to dermatoglyphic asymmetries. Our objective was to determine whether prenatal exposure to a natural disaster (1998 Quebec ice storm) during Weeks 14–22 would result in increased dermatoglyphic asymmetry in children, and to determine the roles of maternal objective stress exposure, subjective stress reaction, and postdisaster cortisol. Ridge counts for homologous fingers were scored for 77 children (20 target exposed [Weeks 14–22] and 57 nontarget exposed [exposed during other gestation weeks]). Children in the target group had more than 0.50 SD greater asymmetry than the nontarget group. Within the target group, children whose mothers had high subjective ice storm stress had significantly greater asymmetry than those with lower stress mothers, and maternal postdisaster cortisol had a significant negative correlation with the children's dermatoglyphic asymmetry (r = −.56). Prenatal maternal stress during the period of fingerprint development results in greater dermatoglyphic asymmetry in their children, especially in the face of greater maternal distress.

Childhood body mass index at 5.5 years mediates the effect of prenatal maternal stress on daughters’ age at menarche: Project Ice Storm

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 168-177 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Duchesne ◽  
A. Liu ◽  
S. L. Jones ◽  
D. P. Laplante ◽  
S. King
Keyword(s):  
Body Mass Index ◽  
Body Mass ◽  
Maternal Stress ◽  
Pubertal Timing ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Age At Menarche ◽  
Ice Storm ◽  
Prenatal Maternal Stress ◽  
Prospective Longitudinal ◽  
The Impact

Early pubertal timing is known to put women at greater risk for adverse physiological and psychological health outcomes. Of the factors that influence girls’ pubertal timing, stress experienced during childhood has been found to advance age at menarche (AAM). However, it is not known if stress experienced by mothers during or in the months before conception can be similarly associated with earlier pubertal timing. Prenatal maternal stress (PNMS) is associated with metabolic changes, such as increased childhood adiposity and risk of obesity, that have been associated with earlier menarchal age. Using a prospective longitudinal design, the present study tested whether PNMS induced by a natural disaster is either directly associated with earlier AAM, or whether there is an indirect association mediated through increased girls’ body mass index (BMI) during childhood. A total of 31 girls, whose mothers were exposed to the Quebec’s January 1998 ice storm during pregnancy were followed from 6 months to 5 1/2 to 5.5 years of age. Mother’s stress was measured within 6 months of the storm. BMI was measured at 5.5 years, and AAM was assessed through teen’s self-report at 13.5 and 15.5 years of age. Results revealed that greater BMI at 5.5 years mediated the effect of PNMS on decreasing AAM [B=−0.059, 95% confidence intervals (−0.18, −0.0035)]. The present study is the first to demonstrate that maternal experience of stressful conditions during pregnancy reduces AAM in the offspring through its effects on childhood BMI. Future research should consider the impact of AAM on other measures of reproductive ability.

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