Early life adversity and insecure attachment style are known risk factors for perinatal
depression. The biological pathways linking these experiences, however, have not yet been …

The early environment, including maternal characteristics, provides many cues to young
organisms that shape their long-term physical and mental health. Identifying the earliest …

Major depressive disorder of the mother affects 6 to 17% of pregnancies worldwide and can
lead to negative outcomes, such as preterm delivery and later mental health problems of the …

In this chapter, we provide an overview of empirical studies evaluating the role of
epigenetics in mediating the association between parenting stress and adverse child …

Objective Maternal antenatal depression may compromise the fetal developmental milieu
and contribute to individual differences in aging and disease trajectories in later life. We …

Stress during pregnancy may impact subsequent generations, which is demonstrated by an
increased susceptibility to childhood and adulthood health problems in the children and …

Depression during the perinatal period is common and can have adverse consequences for
women and their children. Yet, the biobehavioral mechanisms underlying perinatal …

Background Prenatal maternal stress is increasingly recognized as a risk factor for offspring
mental health challenges. DNA methylation may be a mechanism, but few studies directly …

Children of mothers with prenatal depressive symptoms (PND) have a higher risk of
behavioral problems; fetal programming through DNA methylation is a possible underlying …

Objective Individual differences in risk for mental disorders over the lifespan are shaped by
forces acting before the individual is born—in utero, but likely even earlier, during the …