Ecological momentary assessment of maternal cortisol profiles over a multiple-day period predicts the length of human gestation.

Objective: Biobehavioral models of prenatal stress highlight the importance of the stress-related hormone cortisol. However, the association between maternal cortisol levels and the length of human gestation requires further investigation because most previous studies have relied on one-time cortisol measures assessed at varying gestational ages. This study assessed whether ecological momentary assessment (EMA) of cortisol sampling improves the ability to predict the length of human gestation.

Attenuation of maternal psychophysiological stress responses and the maternal cortisol awakening response over the course of human pregnancy.

The effects of maternal stress during pregnancy may depend, in part, on the timing in gestation of the occurrence of stress. The aim of the present study was to examine the effect of stage of gestation on maternal psychophysiological responses to stress using a standardized laboratory paradigm and on the cortisol response to awakening (CAR). A longitudinal design was employed to quantify maternal psychophysiological stress reactivity [changes in heart rate (HR), blood pressure, salivary cortisol, and psychological distress in response to the trier social stress test (TSST)] and the CAR at approximately 17 and 31 weeks gestation in a sample of 148 women.

Prenatal beta-endorphin as an early predictor of postpartum depressive symptoms in euthymic women.

Background: After delivery, many women experience symptoms of postpartum depression (PPD), and early identification of women at risk is therefore important. The opioid peptide beta-endorphin has been implicated in non-puerperal depression but its role in the development of PPD is unknown.

Methods: Three hundred and seven women with a singleton, full-term (>37.

The maternal cortisol awakening response in human pregnancy is associated with the length of gestation.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between intraindividual changes in cortisol responsiveness over pregnancy and the length of human gestation.

Study Design: Pregnancy-related changes in the cortisol awakening response (CAR), which is a measure of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis responsiveness, were assessed prospectively in 101 pregnant women at 16.8 +/- 1.

Risk of postpartum depressive symptoms with elevated corticotropin-releasing hormone in human pregnancy.

Context: Postpartum depression (PPD) is common and has serious implications for the mother and her newborn infant. A possible link between placental corticotropin-releasing hormone (pCRH) and PPD incidence has been hypothesized, but empirical evidence is lacking.

Objective: To determine whether accelerated increases in pCRH throughout pregnancy are associated with PPD symptoms.