Maternal Emotions and Diet in Pregnancy

The purpose of this research study is to understand how a mother's emotional state in pregnancy influences her biological response to food intake. Natural variation in emotional and mental state is frequently experienced in daily life, including during pregnancy. While the investigators understand that a healthy diet is important in pregnancy for maintaining blood sugar levels and other metabolic factors within normal ranges for optimal development of the baby, less consideration is given to the health effects of a mother's mental state during pregnancy. It may even be possible that, regardless of what a woman eats or drinks, the way her body responds to food may differ according to her emotional or mental state.

This research is particularly interested in understanding how the combination of maternal emotional state and diet influence metabolism in pregnancy. Thus, the aim of this study is to test whether and how an individual's emotional response to a mental challenge of varying complexity during pregnancy modifies the body's metabolic response to a standard breakfast.

Inclusion criteria

• Age 18-40 years
• Hispanic ethnicity
• English and/or Spanish speaking
• Multiparous
• 28-30 week's gestation
• Pre-pregnancy BMI 25.0-34.9 kg/m2
• Singleton, intrauterine pregnancy
• Non-smoker
• Non-diabetic and negative result on routine prenatal glucose challenge test (GCT)

Exclusion criteria

• BMI <25.0 or ≥35.0 kg/m2
• >30 week's gestation
• multiple pregnancy
• nulliparous
• present/prior obstetric risk conditions (hypertension, preeclampsia, infections, placental abnormalities)
• current smoker
• current psychiatric disorders or undergoing treatment/taking psychiatric medications
• Use of systemic/frequent corticosteroids or thyroid meds
• Diabetic or presence of other metabolic or neuroendocrine disorders