Study: Maternal Stress Linked To Negative Health Outcomes for Kids

A recent study from researchers at the University of Cincinnati has linked maternal stress to a higher number of placental mitochondrial mutations that can increase the risk for complex disorders for their children later in life.

The study examined 365 placenta samples from birth mothers in Boston and New York City. The researchers looked for mitochondrial genome mutations and paired them with the mother’s completed Life-Stressor Checklist-Revised results, a self-report measure that gauged their maternal lifetime exposure to stressful events.

The placental samples with the highest number of mutations correlated with the mothers who had experienced a high level of psychosocial stress in their lifetimes. The strongest associations were among Black women. The September study was published in the journal Biological Psychiatry.

“It is critical that we better understand the experiences of Black mothers in the U.S.,” Ian H. Gotlib, PhD, professor of psychology at Stanford University, tells Verywell. “And how systemic racism towards Black individuals may modify the impact of other forms of life stress on Black mothers and their children.” 

What Psychological Stress Does To DNA

Gotlib says that the physical effects of chronic psychosocial stress can generate a continuing activation of the body’s neurobiological stress response system, which includes the fight or flight response.

This response then triggers the release of glucocorticoids, which can cause structural, functional, and eventual damage to the mitochondrial DNA in both mothers and their children.

Negative Health Effects of Maternal Stress

The negative mental health outcomes of stress are well documented, but the new study highlights the changes at the cellular level that maternal stress can create.

“Systemic stress responses in the body promote increased generation of reactive oxygen species in mitochondria that, in turn, can lead to mutations in the DNA,” Gotlib says.

The toll chronic stress can play on the body may cause high blood pressure, artery-clogging deposits, and brain changes that can cause anxiety, depression, and addiction. 

Maternal stress also has been linked to several childhood conditions that can be a result of mitochondria DNA dysfunction and lead to poor health outcomes later in life, such as:

• Asthma
• Obesity
• Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
• Autism

The Need for Interventions

Maternal stress can create lasting negative health consequences for children. That's why it's vital that interventions are created to help minimize the effects of stress on both mothers and children.

“Increasing our ability to identify and effectively treat at-risk families is one of the first steps,” Jonas G. Miller, PhD, postdoctoral research fellow in psychology at Stanford University, tells Verywell. “There are ongoing efforts to develop effective tools for prenatal and postpartum clinical screenings of stress and interventions that may help reduce stress in pregnant women and better prepare them for the often challenging transition to parenthood.”

Miller adds that evidence-based interventions have been established to reduce triggers of maternal stress that have been proven to be effective for both mother and child.

The parental role is critical to protecting their children from environmental stress; therefore, many interventions have been created to target both parents and how they interact with their children. Others focus on developing quality parent/child relationships. 

Examples of proven interventions include:

• Child-Parent Psychotherapy
• Family Check-Up
• The Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-Up Intervention 
• Parent-Child Interaction Therapy
• Circle of Security

“Caring for children and ensuring they develop in safe environments is not only the responsibility of the individual parent, but is also the responsibility of society,” Lucy King, PhD student of psychology at Stanford University, tells Verywell. “The U.S. must enact policies that help reduce socioeconomic inequality and discrimination, improve access to mental and physical healthcare, and provide mothers with the time and resources they need to establish positive relationships with their children.”