The pregnancy period represents a unique window of opportunity to identify risks to both the
fetus and mother and to deter the intergenerational transmission of adversity and mental …

Adversity experienced during gestation is a predictor of lifetime neuropsychiatric disease
susceptibility. Specifically, maternal stress during pregnancy predisposes offspring to sex …

We have examined factors concerned with the maintenance of uterine quiescence during
pregnancy and the onset of uterine activity at term in an animal model, the sheep, and in …

Recent studies in humans suggest that alterations in the activity of the neuroendocrine
system mediate the effects of psychosocial stress on fetal development and birth outcome …

The principal modulators of the hypothalamic‐pituitary‐adrenal (HPA) axis are corticotropin‐
releasing hormone (CRH) and arginine‐vasopressin (AVP). Corticotropin‐releasing …

Context Most societies believe that a mother's psychological state can influence her unborn
baby. Severe adverse life events during pregnancy have been consistently associated with …

A frequently proposed mechanism underlying the link between maternal prenatal
stress/anxiety and child outcomes is heightened concentrations of maternal cortisol. In this …

E. Functional development 1. Ontogeny of steroidogenic activity 2. Functional zonation and
ontogeny of steroidogenic enzyme expression 3. Responsiveness to ACTH III. Regulation A …

Pregnancy dramatically affects the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis leading to increased
circulating cortisol and ACTH levels during gestation, reaching values in the range seen in …

Objective: This study tested the hypothesis that maternal stress is associated with elevated
maternal levels of corticotropin releasing hormone and activation of the placental-adrenal …