ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we consider the evidence for associations between a specific type of maternal psychological distress, pregnancy-related anxiety, and offspring emotional, cognitive, motor, brain, and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis development as well as risk for later psychopathology. We find convincing support for an association between pregnancy-related anxiety and infant and child negative affectivity and poorer infant and child cognitive development. Although limited by the small number of studies, support for links between pregnancy-related anxiety and offspring psychopathology, brain, HPA axis, and motor development is growing. We consider the strength of the evidence for these associations beyond the effects of other types of prenatal and postnatal maternal psychological distress, and also consider future directions for the field, including the effects of fetal exposure timing and possible interventions that may disrupt negative influences of pregnancy-related anxiety on offspring outcomes.
