Children exposed to 3+ prenatal negative life events (NLEs) face higher emotional, conduct, and peer problems.

Events related to housing, finance, and living conditions significantly influence total child difficulties.

Assessing NLEs during prenatal follow-up may help identify high-risk individuals for appropriate multidisciplinary care.

Prenatal negative life events (NLEs) have been linked to adverse health outcomes in children. However, few studies examine this relationship during late childhood using trajectory analyses. Additionally, the impact of specific NLEs domains on child development remains unclear. This study aims to longitudinally explore the association between NLEs (cumulative score and specific NLEs domains) and child outcomes from birth to late childhood.

1135 mother-child pairs from the French EDEN cohort were followed from 24 to 28 weeks of pregnancy up to 11 years of age. Maternal self-reports of prenatal NLEs were collected immediately after birth, then analyzed as a cumulative score and by NLEs domain. Children's emotional and behavioral symptoms were assessed at 4 timepoints through the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire.

Children of mothers exposed to ≥3 NLEs were more likely to follow trajectories of high levels of peer relationship problems (aOR [95 % CI] = 5.69 [1.74–18.69]), emotional symptoms (aOR [95 % CI] = 3.05 [1.08–8.63]), and conduct problems (aOR [95 %] = 3.53 [1.20–10.42]). Among the domains of NLEs, only events related to housing, finance, and living conditions were significantly associated with high emotional and behavioral difficulties trajectories (aOR [95%CI] = 2.71[1.26–5.81]).

Potential attrition bias due to a higher dropout rate for children experiencing early indications of emotional and behavioral difficulties.

Findings support the relationship between prenatal NLEs and child outcomes, underscoring the importance of assessing prenatal stressors across life domains to identify mothers who might be in need of support.

Prenatal stress

Negative life events

Fetal programming

Child neurodevelopment

Longitudinal study

© 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.