2018 Volume 36 Issue 1 Pages 5-14
Prenatal maternal stress impacts fetal growth that can be assessed using cortisol profiles. However, the association between maternal mental health, cortisol profile, and fetal growth remains unclear. This study assessed the cortisol awakening response (CAR) and diurnal cortisol slope (DCS) as the cortisol profile. Healthy pregnant women (N=44, 20 mid-term, 24 late-term; mean age, 29.3 years) participated in this study. Participants’ mental health was assessed using the General Health Questionnaire, and saliva samples were collected eight times a day for cortisol assessment. The latent growth curve analysis of diurnal cortisol changes using Hierarchical Linear Modeling showed that the intercept and the negative slope were significant. The effects of these intercepts and slopes on the gestation period and birth weight were examined through multiple regression analyses. The results showed that only DCS had a marginally negative association with infant’s birth weight (β=−.52, p<.10), after controlling for confounding factors. The DCS might be a better tool for assessing the mental health status during pregnancy, which could also be a better predictor of the birth weight than CAR.
