A University of Lethbridge research study has shown that the effects of prenatal maternal stress (PNMS) can last for generations.

Drs. Gerlinde Metz and Stephanie King and a team of researchers used a rat model to examine the consequences of PNMS across four generations.

“Prenatal maternal stress is a major driver of adverse pregnancy outcomes and a risk factor for chronic illness in adulthood,” says Metz. “The present study builds on our earlier finding that transgenerational and multigenerational PNMS causes adverse pregnancy outcomes and impaired development in offspring.”

The first- and second-generation mothers experienced shorter pregnancies and altered behaviours, and their pups had reduced weight and delayed sensorimotor development.

“In our new study, we found that the first generation of offspring revealed a moder…