biostudies-literatureDuffy KANIMH NIH HHS7https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC9936707biostudies-literatureUnknown14(1)<h4>Background</h4>The mechanisms by which parental early life stress can be transmitted to the next generation, in some cases in a sex-specific manner, are unclear. Maternal preconception stress may increase susceptibility to suboptimal health outcomes via in utero programming of the fetal hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis.<h4>Methods</h4>We recruited healthy pregnant women (N = 147), dichotomized into low (0 or 1) and high (2+) adverse childhood experience (ACE) groups based on the ACE Questionnaire, to test the hypothesis that maternal ACE history influences fetal adrenal development in a sex-specific manner. At a mean (standard deviation) of 21.5 (1.4) and 29.5 (1.4) weeks gestation, participants underwent three-dimensional ultrasounds to measure fetal adrenal volume, adjustingBiology of sex differencesMaternal adverse childhood experiences impact fetal adrenal volume in a sex-specific manner.PMC9936707P50 MH099910K23MH102360Wang EYBale TLDuffy KAEpperson CNSammel MDJohnson RLHantsoo LKim DREwing GKornfield SLfalseMaternal adverse childhood experiences impact fetal adrenal volume in a sex-specific manner.<h4>Background</h4>The mechanisms by which parental early life stress can be transmitted to the next generation, in some cases in a sex-specific manner, are unclear. Maternal preconception stress may increase susceptibility to suboptimal health outcomes via in utero programming of the fetal hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis.<h4>Methods</h4>We recruited healthy pregnant women (N = 147), dichotomized into low (0 or 1) and high (2+) adverse childhood experience (ACE) groups based on the ACE Questionnaire, to test the hypothesis that maternal ACE history influences fetal adrenal development in a sex-specific manner. At a mean (standard deviation) of 21.5 (1.4) and 29.5 (1.4) weeks gestation, participants underwent three-dimensional ultrasounds to measure fetal adrenal volume, adjusting2023-01-01T00:00:00Z2023 Feb2025-04-04T13:35:48.099Z2025-02-19T02:56:57.866ZS-EPMC99367073680344210.1186/s13293-023-00492-0