Mother-offspring dialogue in early pregnancy: Impact of adverse environment on pregnancy maintenance and neurobiology

►Pregnancy is established and maintained by neuro-endocrine-immune factors in a bi-directional fashion between conceptus and mother - these include gonadotrophins, sex steroids and cytokines among others, which not only support the mother-offspring interface but also impact on other maternal tissues such as the brain. These then indirectly affect the ongoing pregnancy, its outcome and maternal behavior perinatally. ►Early pregnancy is a vulnerable time and in the peri-implantation period exposure to adverse environment such as stress or poor nutrition risks pregnancy problems and ongoing health issues such as pregnancy failure, pregnancy anxiety, and embryo programming. ►Evidence is emerging that all these outcomes may depend upon inappropriate changes in key pregnancy hormones, such as progesterone and prolactin, that sustain the necessary gestation mechanisms and the maternal brain adaptations required for birth and beyond. ►The role of typical stress hormones such as glucocorticoids and catecholamines possibly includes determination of the extent of embryonic/placental and maternal responses to progesterone and prolactin - understanding the delicate and susceptible nature of pregnancy requires further investigation into the co-dependence of all responses to stress.