Timing matters: maternal stress across the perinatal period and infant socioemotional development at three months

Abstract

Maternal perinatal stress is a prevalent public health concern with potential implications for early socioemotional development, yet evidence from Latin American populations remains limited. This prospective cohort study examined trimester-specific and cumulative associations between maternal psychosocial stress and infant socioemotional development at three months postpartum. Participants were 202 pregnant women from Argentina (mean age = 25.90 years, SD = 5.16; range = 18–41), predominantly from low (51.2%) or lower-middle (45.0%) socioeconomic strata. Infant outcome data were available for 198 full-term infants (54.3% female, 45.7% male). Maternal depression, anxiety, perceived stress, and pregnancy-specific distress were assessed during the second and third trimesters and at three months postpartum, where applicable. Principal component analyses were used to derive period-specific and cumulative stress indices, and hierarchical regression models adjusted for relevant sociodemographic and perinatal covariates examined associations with infant socioemotional development. Higher maternal psychosocial stress was associated with less optimal socioemotional outcomes. Second-trimester stress showed the strongest association with infant socioemotional vulnerability, while postnatal stress contributed additional explanatory variance. The cumulative perinatal stress index was also significantly associated with poorer socioemotional outcomes. These findings suggest that both the timing and accumulation of maternal psychosocial stress may contribute to early socioemotional development and support the importance of early identification and prevention strategies targeting maternal mental health in underrepresented populations.