Associations of prenatal maternal psychosocial stress and depression with neurodevelopmental outcomes in 7.5-month-old infants in the ECHO.CA.IL prospective birth cohorts

Background: Exposure to maternal stress and depression during pregnancy can have a marked impact on birth outcomes and child development, escalating the likelihood of preterm birth, lower birth weight, and various domains of physical and neurodevelopment. Methods: The joint ECHO.CA.IL cohort is comprised of the Chemicals in Our Bodies (CIOB) and Illinois Kids Development Study (IKIDS) prospective cohorts, recruiting pregnant women in San Francisco, CA, and Urbana-Champaign, IL, respectively. Using a combined sample of 428 mother-infant dyads, we examined associations between two prenatal measures of maternal stress (perceived stress (PSS) and stressful events (SLE)), as well as maternal depression, and five domains of neurodevelopment via the Ages & Stages Questionnaire (ASQ) administered at 7.5 months. Linear regression models were adjusted for relevant demographic characteristics and used to identify patterns of association. Results: CIOB mothers were comparatively racially/ethnically diverse (52 % white, 28 % Asian American/Pacific Islander, 12 % Hispanic), while IKIDS mothers were disproportionately white (80 %). Both cohorts demonstrated high levels of maternal education and were similar in terms of other demographic characteristics. CIOB mothers reported higher levels of stress (e.g., SLE: 49.63 % report ≥1 event) compared to IKIDS mothers (e.g., SLE: 16.34 % report ≥1 event). In adjusted linear models, patterns of association were nearly uniformly negative between stress and ASQ measures, with associations between PSS and fine motor skills (β-0.26, CI = -0.52; 0.00) and SLEs and communication skills (β = −2.9245, CI = -6.1643; 0.3152) showing the strongest associations (p < 0.1). Depression showed no significant or clear pattern of association with ASQ scores. Conclusion: This study found negative associations between prenatal maternal stress and infant neurodevelopment in the combined ECHO.CA.IL cohort, suggesting that prenatal stress is associated with delayed development of motor and communication skills during infancy. The inconclusive links between maternal depression and ASQ outcomes leave open the question regarding the influence of prenatal depression on early child neurodevelopment.