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Maternal Trauma Experience On Infant Cortisol Reactivity At 12 Months, Michelle Anne Gilchrist

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) is a major public health concern in the United States (US). One third of women in the US have experienced rape, physical assault or stalking by a former or current partner (Black et al., 2011). Evidence suggests that women experience increased risk for IPV during the perinatal period and exposure to IPV during and after pregnancy increases risk for adverse physical and mental health outcomes for victims. The “fetal programming” hypothesis proposes that prenatal experiences are also particularly impactful for offspring development in the short and long term; prenatal poor nutrition and stress have been linked …