Early Trauma and Discrimination Shape Maternal Mental Health

Research By: Katherine Bowers, PhD, MPH | Alonzo “Ted” Folger, PhD, MS

Post Date: March 2, 2025 | Publish Date: May 2025

Every Child Succeeds | Top Scientific Achievement

Women who experience trauma early in life—especially emotional neglect—and discrimination during pregnancy are more likely to face depression and distress in the perinatal period, according to new research from Cincinnati Children’s and Every Child Succeeds.

The study, led by Katherine Bowers, PhD, and Alonzo Folger, PhD, was published in March, 2025, in the journal Public Health.

followed 361 pregnant women in the Pregnancy and Infant Development Study (PRIDE), a cohort within the Every Child Succeeds program. Researchers measured participants’ early-life adversity, current discrimination, and perinatal mental health. They found that both early adversity and discrimination independently predicted worse mental health outcomes. Results showed that the combination had the strongest impact.

“Understanding how trauma and discrimination intersect helps us tailor support for families who face the greatest psychosocial risk,” says Robert Ammerman, PhD, co-author, senior scientist at Cincinnati Children’s and scientific director of Every Child Succeeds. “When we recognize these stressors early, we can design prevention strategies that improve outcomes for mothers and children.”

Emotional neglect in childhood—feeling unloved or unsupported—was most strongly linked to depression and anxiety. Discrimination related to age, gender, race, physical appearance, or income also correlated with distress, especially among women reporting both high early adversity and high discrimination.

These insights can guide more precise, trauma-informed care within home-visiting and perinatal programs. Next, researchers plan to expand PRIDE’s longitudinal data to explore how maternal experiences affect infant development and identify which interventions most effectively buffer stress.

About the study

Cincinnati Children’s co-authors included Lili Ding, PhD; Kimberly Yolton, PhD; and Jennifer Frey, PhD. Other collaborators represented Every Child Succeeds and the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.

This study was funded by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (R01 MD013005).

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Publication Information

Original title:	Combined effects of life course maternal psychosocial experiences on perinatal mental health
Published in:	Public Health
Publish date:	May 2025

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