Jaramillo Isabel, Bergunde Luisa, Müller-Stark Corinna, Karl Marlene, Weise Victoria, Kirschbaum Clemens, Garthus-Niegel Susan, Steudte-Schmiedgen Susann
Institute and Policlinic of Occupational and Social Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, TUD Dresden University of Technology, Dresden, Germany.
Department of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, TUD Dresden University of Technology, Dresden, Germany.
BMC Pediatr. 2025 Mar 14;25(1):191. doi: 10.1186/s12887-025-05528-5.
Evidence suggests maternal birth experience impacts infant health. Alterations of the infant's hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis are discussed as one possible underlying mechanism. This study aimed to investigate both objective and subjective birth experience as potential predictors of offspring's hair glucocorticoid concentrations (GCs) and infant development, respectively. Further, we examined the role of hair GCs for prospective infant development in different domains.
n = 263 mothers participating in the prospective cohort study DREAM completed questionnaires about their objective and subjective birth experience approximately eight weeks after birth. Additionally, hair samples from n = 286 infants were taken around ten days (neonatal hair GCs) and eight weeks after birth (infant hair GCs) and long-term integrated hair cortisol and cortisone levels were measured in scalp-near 2-cm segments. Infant development (communication, gross motor, fine motor, problem-solving, personal-social) was assessed 14 months after birth using the Ages and Stages Questionnaire - 3 (ASQ-3).
No significant associations were found between objective or subjective birth experience and most domains of infant development, except that a more negative objective birth experience predicted poorer fine motor skills. Additionally, a more negative objective birth experience was linked to lower infant hair cortisone levels and a higher cortisol/cortisone ratio, while a more negative subjective experience was associated with higher neonatal hair cortisol. Lower neonatal hair cortisone showed a link to poorer personal-social development. However, after correction for multiple testing, only the associations between a more negative objective birth experience and lower hair cortisone and a higher cortisol/cortisone ratio at eight weeks remained significant.
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.
有证据表明，母亲的分娩经历会影响婴儿健康。婴儿下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺（HPA）轴的改变被认为是一种可能的潜在机制。本研究旨在分别调查客观和主观分娩经历作为后代头发糖皮质激素浓度（GCs）和婴儿发育的潜在预测因素。此外，我们还研究了头发GCs在不同领域对婴儿未来发育的作用。
n = 263名参与前瞻性队列研究DREAM的母亲在产后约8周完成了关于她们客观和主观分娩经历的问卷。此外，采集了n = 286名婴儿出生后约10天（新生儿头发GCs）和8周（婴儿头发GCs）的头发样本，并测量了头皮附近2厘米段头发中皮质醇和可的松的长期综合水平。使用年龄与发育进程问卷-3（ASQ-3）在婴儿出生14个月后评估其发育情况（沟通、大运动、精细运动、解决问题、个人社交）。
除了更负面的客观分娩经历预示着较差的精细运动技能外，未发现客观或主观分娩经历与婴儿发育的大多数领域之间存在显著关联。此外，更负面的客观分娩经历与较低的婴儿头发可的松水平和较高的皮质醇/可的松比值有关，而更负面的主观经历与较高的新生儿头发皮质醇有关。较低的新生儿头发可的松与较差的个人社交发育有关。然而，在进行多重检验校正后，只有更负面的客观分娩经历与8周时较低的头发可的松和较高的皮质醇/可的松比值之间的关联仍然显著。
分娩经历的客观方面可能比母亲的主观感受对婴儿头发GCs有更持久的影响，特别是较高的分娩并发症与较低的婴儿可的松和较高的婴儿皮质醇/可的松比值有关。鉴于该比值可能表明将皮质醇转化为其无活性形式的酶活性降低，结果表明分娩并发症可能影响婴儿的糖皮质激素代谢。未发现分娩经历或头发GCs与婴儿发育之间存在强有力的关联。需要在更多样化的高危人群中进行进一步研究，以阐明这些复杂关系。
