Can we influence the neurological development and hair cortisol concentration of offspring by reducing the stress of the mother during pregnancy? A randomized controlled trial
Metadatos
Mostrar el registro completo del ítemAutor
Puertas González, José Antonio; Mariño Narváez, Carolina; González Pérez, Raquel; Sosa Sánchez, Isis O.; Peralta Ramírez, María IsabelEditorial
Wiley
Materia
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy CBT Cortisol in hair Neurodevelopment Prenatal stress
Fecha
2023-01-13Referencia bibliográfica
Puertas-Gonzalez, J. A... [et al.] (2023). Can we influence the neurological development and hair cortisol concentration of offspring by reducing the stress of the mother during pregnancy? A randomized controlled trial. Stress and Health, 1– 13. [https://doi.org/10.1002/smi.3222]
Patrocinador
Ministry of Science and Innovation of the Spanish Government; Ministry of Science, Innovation and UniversitiesResumen
The objective was to evaluate the effects of a stress management cognitive behavioural
therapy followed during pregnancy on subsequent childhood on hair cortisol at
birth and on neurodevelopment and Hair Cortisol Concentrations (HCC) at 6 months
of age. The study sample included 48 pregnant women, divided into two groups: 24
women in the Therapy Group (TG) and 24 women who received standard pregnancy
care (control group (CG); CG). To test the therapy efficacy, an evaluation of the HCC
and psychological stress, psychopathological symptomatology and resilience was
conducted before and after the treatment. The level of cortisol in their hair was
obtained during pregnancy and that of their babies at birth. Six months after birth, a
cortisol sample was taken from the hair and the babies' neurodevelopment was
evaluated based on a Bayley‐III test. The TG presented reductions in psychological
stress and psychopathological symptomatology after treatment. On the other hand,
the CG increased their cortisol concentrations between the pre and post intervention,
remaining stable in the TG. Moreover, results showed that TG babies had lower
cortisol concentrations at birth and obtained significantly higher cognitive and motor
development scores at 6 months. These findings support that providing psychological
care to pregnant women may not only have a benefit on these women's mental state,
but may also benefit the neurodevelopment of their offspring.