Ferrara/Hedderson/Avalos: Prenatal Mental Health and Lifestyle Exposures in Association With Child Growth and Neurodevelopment

Discovery Summary

Key Takeaways:

• Infants born smaller or larger than average for their gestational age, as well as infants who gain weight rapidly after birth, are at increased risk for developing obesity later in life.
• Previous research has found that diet during pregnancy affects fetal growth, but most studies focus on isolated foods or nutrients rather than overall diet quality.
• Previous research has found a link between prenatal depression and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) diagnosis in children, but those studies often leave out children who don’t meet the ASD-diagnosis criteria but still have autism-related social behaviors.
• Recent ECHO research found an association between prenatal depression and autism-related traits in children with more severe prenatal depression being correlated with more autism-related traits.

Speakers:

Assiamira Ferrara, MD, PhD

Kaiser Permanente Northern California (KPNC)

Speaker Bio:

Assiamira Ferrara is a Senior Research Scientist and Associate Director at the Kaiser Permanente Northern California Division of Research. Dr. Ferrara is internationally recognized for her expertise in gestational diabetes (GDM) and obesity during pregnancy, and her research interests focus on preventing the adverse effects of these conditions on women’s and children’s health. Her primary focus has been the epidemiology of and translational research related to diabetes and GDM. Dr. Ferrara and colleagues have adapted the National Diabetes Prevention Program to be delivered by telehealth in women with GDM as well as pregnant women with overweight or obesity during the prenatal and postpartum periods to achieve weight management and reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes.

Monique Hedderson, PhD, MPH

Kaiser Permanente Northern California (KPNC)

Speaker Bio: Monique Hedderson is a research scientist III (equivalent to Full Professor) and epidemiologist at the Kaiser Permanente Northern California (KPNC) Division of Research. She completed a master’s degree in public health and a doctoral degree in epidemiology at the University of Washington School of Public Health. She has more than 20 years research experience within the KPNC integrated health care system. Her research takes an interdisciplinary approach at the interface of disease etiology and prevention strategies in women’s and children’s health across the lifespan. Specifically, her work has largely sought to understand how potentially modifiable factors before and during early pregnancy contribute to the risk of metabolic complications during pregnancy, postpartum and childhood.

Lyndsay Avalos, PhD, MPH

Kaiser Permanente Northern California (KPNC)

Speaker Bio: Lyndsay A. Avalos, Research Scientist II (equivalent to an Associate Professor Rank) joined the Division of Research (DOR) at Kaiser Permanente Northern California. She received an MPH from Boston University and a PhD in epidemiology from UC Berkeley. Her research is primarily focused on informing and developing innovative interventions to improve the mental health and well-being of pregnant women, new moms and their children. A significant part of her research addresses maternal mental health and substance use with studies ranging from epidemiologic to intervention implementation into healthcare delivery.