Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA.
Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA.
Pediatr Res. 2023 Apr;93(5):1285-1293. doi: 10.1038/s41390-021-01894-9. Epub 2021 Dec 16.
This study examined the relationship between prenatal maternal stress (PREMS) and non-nutritive suck (NNS) and tested its robustness across 2 demographically diverse populations.
The study involved 2 prospective birth cohorts participating in the national Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program: Illinois Kids Development Study (IKIDS) and ECHO Puerto Rico (ECHO-PROTECT). PREMS was measured during late pregnancy via the 10-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10). NNS was sampled from 1- to 8-week-olds using a custom pacifier for ~5 min.
Overall, 237 mother-infant dyads completed this study. Despite several significant differences, including race/ethnicity, income, education, and PREMS levels, significant PREMS-NNS associations were found in the 2 cohorts. In adjusted linear regression models, higher PREMS, measured through PSS-10 total scores, related to fewer but longer NNS bursts per minute.
A significant association was observed between PREMS and NNS across two diverse cohorts. This finding is important as it may enable the earlier detection of exposure-related deficits and, as a result, earlier intervention, which potentially can optimize outcomes. More research is needed to understand how NNS affects children's neurofunction and development.
In this double-cohort study, we found that higher maternal perceived stress assessed in late pregnancy was significantly associated with fewer but longer sucking bursts in 1- to 8-week-old infants. This is the first study investigating the association between prenatal maternal stress (PREMS) and infant non-nutritive suck (NNS), an early indicator of central nervous system integrity. Non-nutritive suck is a potential marker of increased prenatal stress in diverse populations. Non-nutritive suck can potentially serve as an early indicator of exposure-related neuropsychological deficits allowing for earlier interventions and thus better prognoses.
本研究考察了产前母体应激（PREMS）与非营养性吸吮（NNS）之间的关系，并在两个人口统计学上不同的人群中检验了其稳健性。
该研究涉及参与国家环境对儿童健康结果（ECHO）计划的两个前瞻性出生队列：伊利诺伊州儿童发展研究（IKIDS）和 ECHO 波多黎各（ECHO-PROTECT）。PREMS 在妊娠晚期通过 10 项感知压力量表（PSS-10）进行测量。NNS 通过使用定制奶嘴从 1 周到 8 周大的婴儿中抽取约 5 分钟进行采样。
共有 237 对母婴完成了这项研究。尽管存在一些显著差异，包括种族/族裔、收入、教育程度和 PREMS 水平，但在这两个队列中都发现了显著的 PREMS-NNS 相关性。在调整后的线性回归模型中，通过 PSS-10 总分测量的较高 PREMS 与每分钟吸吮次数减少但吸吮时间延长相关。
在两个不同的队列中观察到 PREMS 与 NNS 之间存在显著关联。这一发现很重要，因为它可以更早地检测到与暴露相关的缺陷，并因此更早地进行干预，从而优化结果。需要进一步研究来了解 NNS 如何影响儿童的神经功能和发育。
在这项双队列研究中，我们发现妊娠晚期评估的较高母体感知压力与 1 至 8 周龄婴儿的吸吮次数减少但吸吮时间延长显著相关。这是第一项研究产前母体应激（PREMS）与婴儿非营养性吸吮（NNS）之间关联的研究，NNS 是中枢神经系统完整性的早期指标。非营养性吸吮是多种人群中产前应激增加的潜在标志物。非营养性吸吮可能成为与暴露相关的神经心理缺陷的早期指标，从而允许更早的干预，从而获得更好的预后。
