Risk towards poor mental health is impacted by a number of biological, psychological, and social factors that work together throughout the lifespan and across generations. A large body of research supports the influence of the prenatal environment on children’s developmental and mental health outcomes. For example, prenatal depression has been linked to later risk of depression in children, and prenatal depression, prenatal anxiety, and stressful life events during pregnancy have all been associated with risk of anxiety disorders in children. There is also growing interest in understanding the potential biological causes that may drive these relationships. In particular, inflammation has been suggested as a potential factor that may influence these associations, due to its role in the onset of depression and other mental and physical health disorders. However, few studies to date have examined the role of inflammation in relationships between prenatal maternal stress and child and adolescent mental health outcomes, calling for continued research in this area.

In addition, although the relationships between prenatal stress and child and adolescent mental health outcomes are well-established, children continue to be exposed to a number of influences, both positive and negative, after birth. For example, research suggests that the relationships between prenatal stress and child outcomes may differ depending on how mothers are able to cope with the stress they experience, including their degree of partner and social support, and availability of psychological resources including higher self-esteem and self-efficacy. Furthermore, a growing number of studies suggest that parenting behaviours may play an important role in these associations. For example, children exposed to parental warmth and positive relationships with their mothers and fathers may be buffered to the impacts of early adversity; conversely, children exposed to maltreatment or harsh parenting may exhibit increased vulnerability. Considering how both maternal coping resources and parenting further increase or reduce the risk towards chronic inflammation and later mental health outcomes in children exposed to prenatal stress, however, is an area that requires further investigation. In addition, the influence of many coping resources and parenting behaviours on later inflammation is an understudied area.