About this session

Saturday, 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM

Triangulating the impact of perinatal HPA axis functioning on postpartum parent-child wellbeing

Mothers’ perinatal stress may perturb child development and affect the early parent-child relationship. There has been much interest in identifying physiological mechanisms that might transmit psychological stress to the fetus, with the HPA axis hypothesized to be a key potential pathway (Howland et al., 2017). However, empirical evidence on perinatal HPA axis functioning and child-family outcomes has been mixed (Duthie & Reynolds, 2013). This symposium will extend our knowledge by focusing on longitudinal investigations with multimodal assessment of parent and child functioning. Presentations capitalize on many indices of perinatal HPA axis functioning including prenatal corticotropin-release hormone (pCRH), hair cortisol concentration, cortisol awakening response (CAR), diurnal slopes, and cortisol reactivity. All studies are longitudinal, and each draw on measures of both parent and child functioning across the perinatal window. One study uses prenatal pCRH trajectories to predict child development outcomes up to 8 years postpartum. Another study analyses diurnal salivary cortisol data collected from early pregnancy to 12-months postpartum to predict infant temperament. Finally, the third study uses hair and salivary cortisol assays to predict postpartum psychological distress and parent-infant bonding in first-time mothers and fathers. Findings across these studies reveal mixed associations between HPA functioning and parent-child outcomes. Our presentation will highlight opportunities to improve the rigor and reproducibility of the extant research on perinatal stress.

Paper #1
Title	Psychophysiological stress and postpartum bonding among mothers and fathers during the transition to parenthood
Presenting author	Gabriella Vavala, University of Southern California, United States

Paper #2
Title	Maternal perinatal cortisol trajectories and infant temperament at 12 months postpartum
Presenting author	Gabrielle Rose Rinne, University of California - Los Angeles, United States

Paper #3
Title	Testing Associations Between Placental Corticotropin Releasing Hormone and Children’s Age 8 Internalizing Outcomes
Presenting author	Dr. Alexandra Sullivan, Ph.D., Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Center for Health and Community, Weill Neurosciences Institute, University of California, San Francisco, United States

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Session chair
Mr. Gabriel A. León, University of Southern California, United States

Discussant
Megan R. Gunnar, Ph.D., Megan Gunnar, United States

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