Prenatal maternal cortisol, fetal activity and growth.

Pregnant women (N = 131) were recruited at a prenatal ultrasound clinic between 20 and 28 weeks (M = 24 weeks) gestation. The women were given the CES-D for depression and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and were asked to provide a urine sample to be assayed for cortisol, norepinephrine, epinephrine, dopamine, and serotonin. Ultrasound sessions were conducted and coded for fetal activity and estimated fetal weight. Regression analyses were then conducted with fetal activity and fetal weight as outcome variables. Gestational age entered both analyses as the first variable followed by: (1) prenatal cortisol as a significant predictor of fetal activity; and (2) prenatal cortisol as a significant predictor of estimated fetal weight.