Pregnancy Stress Can Influence Relationship Between Chemical Exposures & Birth Outcomes, ECHO Study Finds

Posted on by Jodi Snare

Stress, anxiety, and depression during pregnancy and maternal adverse childhood experiences may influence the relationship between certain chemical exposures and birth outcomes, according to a new ECHO Cohort study led by Stephanie Eick, PhD, MPH and Anne Dunlop, MD, MPH of Emory University.

Most previous research on the effects of chemical exposures on birth outcomes has focused on a small number of well-established chemicals, such as bisphenol A (BPA) and certain phthalates. However, there are over 350,000 chemicals registered for global use, and the impact of many emerging or understudied chemicals on birth outcomes is not well understood. Additionally, prior studies have not adequately considered how different kinds of maternal stress (such as anxiety, depression, and adverse childhood experiences) might influence the effects of chemical exposures during pregnancy.

This study included 1,556 mother-child pairs from eleven ECHO Cohort Study Sites across the United States. Researchers analyzed urine samples from pregnant participants for 113 different chemicals from 10 chemical classes. Participants also reported on their stress, depression, anxiety, and adverse childhood experiences, allowing researchers to evaluate how these factors affect the relationship between different chemical exposures and birth outcomes.

Key Takeaways include:

  • Exposure to chemicals found in certain consumer and industrial products (such as phthalates, bisphenols, and insecticides) was associated with shorter pregnancies among women who experienced anxiety during pregnancy or in the early postpartum period.
  • Depression modified how exposure to certain chemicals (such as phthalates, parabens, and insecticides) affected birthweight and length of pregnancy.
  • Some chemicals positively correlated with length of pregnancy (duration) for mothers with more depression, while others were associated with lower birthweights when mothers had more depression symptoms.
  • The effects of a mother’s stress on the relationship between chemical exposures and birth outcomes depended on the type of chemical and type of stressor experienced.

“These findings suggest that screening for depression and anxiety during pregnancy could help identify women who may be at a higher risk of adverse birth outcomes,” said Dr. Eick.

Additional studies looking at the combined effects of multiple combined exposures could help researchers better understand the role of these factors in influencing birth outcomes. Future research could also further investigate potential biological effects of maternal adverse childhood experiences.

This collaborative research, titled “Psychosocial Stressors as Modifiers of the Associations Between Well-Studied and Understudied Chemicals and Birth Outcomes in the ECHO Cohort,” is published in Environmental Pollution.

Read the research summary.