Infant development at 14 months in the context of maternal objective and subjective birth experience and infant hair glucocorticoids
Objective aspects of the birth experience may have a more enduring impact on infant hair GCs than maternal subjective perceptions, particularly with higher birth complications being linked to lower infant cortisone and a higher infant cortisol/cortisone ratio. Given that this ratio may indicate reduced enzymatic activity in converting cortisol to its inactive form, results suggest that birth complications could affect the infant's glucocorticoid metabolism. No robust associations were found between birth experiences or hair GCs and infant development. Further research in more diverse, at-risk populations is needed to clarify these complex relationships.
Authors
- Susan Garthus‐Niegel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7472-674X)
- Marlene Karl (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-5606-6568)
- Luisa Bergunde (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6790-8679)
- Isabel Jaramillo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2661-4505)
- Corinna Müller-Stark
- Clemens Kirschbaum
- Victoria Weise (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1737-3893)
- Susann Steudte‐Schmiedgen
Institutions
- Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NO)
- MSH Medical School Hamburg – University of Applied Sciences and Medical University (DE)
- University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus (DE)
- Technische Universität Dresden (DE)
Publication Details
- Journal
- BMC Pediatrics
- Published
- 2025-03-14
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1186/s12887-025-05528-5
- Citations
- 2
- Primary Topic
- Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 3.76
Funders
- Technische Universität Dresden