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Transformation of the maternal–fetal relationship into the mother–infant relationship remains an enigmatic process. This progression is considered using a Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) informed approach centered on domains of Arousal/Regulation, Positive/Negative Valence, and Social Processes. One hundred and fifty-eight maternal–fetal dyads began participation during pregnancy, maternal–infant dyads were followed at 6 months postpartum. Women exhibited stability in feelings of attachment to the fetus and infant, and in positive/negative appraisal of pregnancy and motherhood. Elicited maternal physiological arousal to emotionally evocative videos generated fetal heart rate variability and motor activity responses. Parasympathetic (i.e., heart rate variability) suppression in the fetus was associated with more positive and regulated infant social communication in the Face-to-Face Still Face protocol; suppression of maternal respiratory sinus arrhythmia was related to infant affect but in the opposite direction. Maternal ratings of infant temperament aligned with maternal antenatal affective valence. Attachment trajectories characterized by stability from antenatal to postnatal periods were most associated with maternal affective appraisal of pregnancy; shifts were influenced by infant characteristics and maternal sympathetic responsivity. Results illustrate how variation in arousal and regulatory systems of the pregnant woman and fetus operate within the context of maternal positive and negative valence systems to separately and jointly shape affiliation and temperament in early infancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Testosterone exposure during pregnancy has been hypothesized as a mechanism for sex differences in brain and behavioral development observed in the postnatal period. The current study documents the natural history of maternal salivary testosterone from 18 weeks gestation of pregnancy to 6 months postpartum, and investigates associations with fetal heart rate, motor activity, and their integration. Findings indicate maternal salivary testosterone increases with advancing gestation though no differences by fetal sex were detected. High intra-individual stability in prenatal testosterone levels extend into the postnatal period, particularly for pregnancies with male fetuses. With respect to fetal development, by 36 weeks gestation higher maternal prenatal salivary testosterone was significantly associated with faster fetal heart rate and less optimal somatic-cardiac integration. Measurement of testosterone in saliva is a useful tool for repeated-measures studies of hormonal concomitants of pregnancy. Moreover, higher maternal testosterone levels are associated with modest interference to fetal neurobehavioral development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine the relationship between maternal prepregnancy body mass index (BMI) and fetal cardiac and motor activity and integration during the second half of pregnancy.Methods: Longitudinal data were collected from 610 nonsmoking women with normally progressing pregnancies at three gestational periods (24, 30-32, and 36 weeks) across eight cohorts studied between 1997 and 2013. Fifty minutes of fetal heart rate and motor activity data were collected at each period via actocardiography in a laboratory setting. Data were digitized and analyzed using customized software. Standard BMI categories were computed from maternal prepregnancy weight and height. Participants were stratified into normal weight (n=401, 65.7%), overweight (n=137, 22.5%), or obese (n=72, 11.8%).Results: Fetuses of obese women showed lower heart rate variability and fewer accelerations relative to fetuses of normal weight women. Fetuses of both obese and overweight women exhibited more vigorous motor activity than fetuses of normal weight women. Cardiac-somatic integration was reduced in both obese and overweight groups. Findings differed by gestational age at assessment.Conclusions: Excess maternal prepregnancy weight in overweight and obese women alters the normal trajectory of fetal cardiac and motor development and their integration, with effects amplified as pregnancy progresses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [ • ] The near term fetus has a mature auditory system that reliability detects and responds to the maternal voice. [ • ] Fetal response to the maternal spoken voice was dependent on maternal state prior to reading aloud. [ • ] Fetuses responded with orienting when mothers were awake and talking prior to reading aloud. [ • ] Fetuses showed a startle response when mothers were resting and silent during baseline. [•] Fetuses with low heart rate variability of mothers who were at rest were the largest responders to maternal spoken voice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Fetal responses to induced maternal relaxation during the 32nd week of pregnancy were recorded in 100 maternal–fetal pairs using a digitized data collection system. The 18-min guided imagery relaxation manipulation generated significant changes in maternal heart rate, skin conductance, respiration period, and respiratory sinus arrhythmia. Significant alterations in fetal neurobehavior were observed, including decreased fetal heart rate (FHR), increased FHR variability, suppression of fetal motor activity (FM), and increased FM–FHR coupling. Attribution of the two fetal cardiac responses to the guided imagery procedure itself, as opposed to simple rest or recumbency, is tempered by the observed pattern of response. Evaluation of correspondence between changes within individual maternal–fetal pairs revealed significant associations between maternal autonomic measures and fetal cardiac patterns, lower umbilical and uterine artery resistance and increased FHR variability, and declining salivary cortisol and FM activity. Potential mechanisms that may mediate the observed results are discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of fetal hiccups on fetal heart rate from 20 weeks of gestation onward.Methods: One thousand four hundred and fifty-six collected fetal heart rate tracings from three cohorts that participated in longitudinal studies of fetal neurobehavioral development were reviewed retrospectively for fetal hiccups. Tracings were recorded at four-week intervals from 20 weeks. A hiccup-free period before or after the episode of hiccups was used as the control fetal heart rate; thus each fetus was used as its own control. The paired t-test was used for statistical analysis.Results: From 28 weeks onward, the mean fetal heart rate increased with hiccups reaching statistical significance at 32 weeks. Fetal heart rate variability was unaffected by hiccups until 36 weeks, at which time it decreased during hiccup periods.Conclusion: This change in response to fetal hiccups may represent another neurodevelopment milestone for the fetus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The enigmatic quality of the maternal–fetal relationship has been extolled throughout history with little empirical support. We apply time series analysis to data for 137 maternal–fetal pairs collected at 20, 24, 28, 32, 36, and 38 weeks gestation. Maternal heart rate and skin conductance data were digitized in tandem with fetal heart rate and motor activity. No temporal relations between fetal heart rate and either maternal variable were found, although averaged maternal and fetal heart rates were correlated from 32 weeks. Consistent temporal associations between fetal movement and maternal heart rate and skin conductance were detected. Fetal movement stimulated rises in each parameter, peaking at 2 and 3 s, respectively. Associations did not change over gestation, were unaffected by a maternal stressor, and showed within-pair stability. The bidirectional nature of the maternal–fetal relationship is considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Despite increased attention to the role of antenatal maternal psychological stress in postnatal development, remarkably little information is available on the nature of the intrauterine fetal response to maternal psychological state. Aims: To determine whether: (1) the fetus responds to maternal stress; (2) the fetal response changes over gestation; and (3) individual maternal and fetal response patterns are stable over time. Study design: Induced maternal stress at 24 and 36 weeks gestational age using the Stroop color–word task. Subjects: 137 low-risk pregnant women with normally developing fetuses. Outcome measures: Maternal (heart rate and skin conductance) and fetal (heart rate, heart rate variability, and motor activity) responses. Results: The manipulation evoked maternal sympathetic activation, which declined in magnitude from 24 to 36 weeks gestation. Fetuses responded to the manipulation with increased variability in heart rate (F(2,256)=7.80, p<0.001) and suppression of motor activity (F(2,216)=15.47, p<0.001). The magnitude of the fetal response increased over gestation. The degree of maternal reactivity to and recovery from the stressor were correlated over time (r''s=0.53 and 0.60 for heart rate; r''s=0.31 and 0.36 for skin conductance; p''s<0.001). There was moderate stability in the magnitude of the fetal motor response (r=0.25, p<0.01). Conclusions: Demonstration of fetal responses to maternal sympathetic activation evoked by a benign cognitive stressor suggests that fetal neurobehavioral regulation is routinely disrupted by maternal environmental intrusions. There is no evidence of a protective effect of diminished maternal sensitivity to stress on the fetus. Individual stability in the magnitude of the evoked maternal physiologic and psychological responses from 24 to 36 weeks and stability in the fetal motor response implies that characteristic response patterns emerge in utero. We propose that autonomic development is partially entrained through these processes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Objective: The bidirectional nature of mother–child interaction is widely acknowledged during infancy and childhood. Prevailing models during pregnancy focus on unidirectional influences exerted by the pregnant woman on the developing fetus. Prior work has indicated that the fetus also affects the pregnant woman. Our objective was to determine whether a maternal psychophysiological response to stimulation of the fetus could be isolated. Methods: Using a longitudinal design, an airborne auditory stimulus was used to elicit a fetal heart rate and motor response at 24 (n =47) and 36weeks (n =45) of gestation. Women were blind to condition (stimulus versus sham). Maternal parameters included cardiac (heart rate) and electrodermal (skin conductance) responses. Multilevel modeling of repeated measures with 5 data points per second was used to examine fetal and maternal responses. Results: As expected, compared to a sham condition, the stimulus generated a fetal motor response at both gestational ages, consistent with a mild fetal startle. Fetal stimulation was associated with significant, transient slowing of maternal heart rate coupled with increased skin conductance within 10s of the stimulus at both gestational ages. Nulliparous women showed greater electrodermal responsiveness. The magnitude of the fetal motor response significantly corresponded to the maternal skin conductance response at 5, 10, 15, and 30s following stimulation. Conclusion: Elicited fetal movement exerts an independent influence on the maternal autonomic nervous system. This finding contributes to current models of the dyadic relationship during pregnancy between fetus and pregnant woman. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Background: Temperament theory has long considered individual differences in reactivity and regulation to be present at birth. Recent evidence suggests that such differences may be present prenatally and moderated by maternal emotionality. Aims: To determine whether induced maternal emotional activation generates a fetal response and whether observed fetal responsivity is associated with early infant temperament. Study design: Women viewed an emotionally evocative labor and delivery documentary at 32 weeks gestation while physiological indices were evaluated and their infant''s temperament was assessed at 6 weeks postnatal age. Subjects: Participants were 137 pregnant women and their infants. Outcome measures: Maternal physiological (heart rate and skin conductance) and fetal neurobehavioral (heart rate and motor activity) data were collected during gestation in response to the stimulus. Infant temperament (irritability and consolability) data were based on observational methods after birth. Results: Fetuses reacted to maternal viewing of the video with decreased heart rate variability, fewer motor bouts, and decreased motor activity. There was correspondence between the nature of individual maternal physiological responses to the full video, as well as phasic responses to a graphic birth scene, and fetal responsivity. Fetuses that reacted more intensively to maternal stimulation were significantly more likely to become infants that demonstrated greater irritability during a developmental examination at 6 weeks of age. Discussion: These results support the presumption that early postnatal temperamental characteristics emerge during the prenatal period. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]