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March 13, 2026Open Access

Maternal adverse childhood experiences and prenatal stress: Intergenerational transmission and offspring mental health in the ECHO Cohort

Key Points

The aim is to examine the impact of maternal adverse childhood experiences and prenatal stress on offspring mental health.
Analyzed data from the ECHO Cohort.
Investigated associations between maternal ACEs and child mental health outcomes.
Examined the role of prenatal stress in this relationship.
Maternal ACEs and prenatal stress correlated with increased child mental health problems.
Findings underscore the importance of preventing adverse childhood experiences in pregnant individuals.

Abstract

Maternal exposure to ACEs and pregnancy stress were associated with the development of child mental health problems. These findings highlight the need for policies and interventions that mitigate exposure to adversity and protect pregnant individuals and their children from the intergenerational transmission of mental health problems.

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Authors

Shaikh I. Ahmad

Alexandra D.W. Sullivan

University of California System

Marie L. Churchill

Johns Hopkins University

Journals

Psychological Medicine

Actions

Institutions

Harvard University

University of Michigan

Johns Hopkins University

References and Citations

Connected Papers

Building similarity graph...

Analyzing shared references across papers

Maternal adverse childhood experiences and prenatal stress: Intergenerational transmission and offspring mental health in the ECHO Cohort

Key Points

Abstract

Citation Network

Connected Papers

Discussion

Authors

Journals

Actions

Institutions

References and Citations

Citation Network

Connected Papers

Discussion

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