Transgenerational Consequences of Perinatal Experiences: Programming of Health and Disease from Mother to Child and Subsequent Generations

Adverse life experiences resulting from natural disaster, famine, war, or migration can have a lasting impact on maternal and child health. Maternal health can influence future generations through physiological and metabolic programming and epigenetic modifications. Moreover, prenatal and postnatal exposure to stress, trauma, environmental toxins, neglect, and violence can place future generations at an increased risk of behavioral, mental, and neurological disorders. Stress also is one of the most critical risk factors for adverse pregnancy outcomes, such as preterm birth, preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, and fetal growth restriction. This impact can be attributed to programming of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity and the chronic “wear and tear” on the body associated with high allostatic load. This chapter explores the consequences of maternal adverse experiences on mothers, their offspring, and future generations. We address the recent research in both animal models and human cohorts of stress and trauma. Finally, we discuss the importance of resiliency and suggest interventions as means to mitigate stress-associated negative health outcomes.