Date of Award

Spring 6-12-2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Ph.D. in Psychology

Organizational Unit

College of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences, Psychology

First Advisor

Elysia Poggi Davis

Second Advisor

Inna Altschul

Third Advisor

Jenalee R. Doom

Fourth Advisor

Julia O. Dmitrieva

Copyright Statement / License for Reuse

All Rights Reserved
All Rights Reserved.

Keywords

Fetal HPA axis, Longitudinal, Maternal HPA axis, Pregnancy, Sleep

Abstract

The Developmental Originals of Health and Disease (DOHaD) and fetal programming hypotheses posit that developing organisms are especially susceptible to environmental signals at times of rapid maturation. These models highlight pregnancy as a sensitive period in which inputs from the environment can have long-lasting and robust effects on the health and development of the next generation. The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate prenatal maternal sleep as a process that may affect maternal and offspring health. Specifically, we focus on maternal and fetal hypothalamic-pituitaryadrenal (HPA) axis physiology since these systems have been commonly proposed as biological pathways linking prenatal experiences to offspring outcomes. The first study examines the associations among prenatal maternal hair cortisol, cortisol-cortisone ratio and perceived stress and prenatal maternal sleep across pregnancy. The second study investigates whether changes in prenatal maternal sleep predict neonatal hair cortisol levels. Results from the first study revealed that higher perceived stress, but not cortisol or cortisol-cortisone ratio, is associated with more sleep problems and shorter sleep duration across pregnancy. Further, results from the second study show that prenatal maternal sleep does not significantly predict neonatal hair cortisol levels. The findings from the two studies, as well as contributions to existing literature, strengths and limitations, and future directions, are discussed in detail.

Copyright Date

6-2026

Publication Statement

Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.

Rights Holder

Melissa Nevarez-Brewster

Provenance

Received from ProQuest

File Format

application/pdf

Language

English (eng)

Extent

148 pgs

File Size

1.3 MB

Supplementary File Description

Supplemental Materials 
File Format: application/pdf
Language: English (eng)
Extent: 4 pgs
File Size: 255 KB

Table 1: Log-Transformed Distribution of Maternal Hair Cortisol, Cortisone, and Cortisol-Cortisone

Table 2: Scatterplot Between Maternal Hair Cortisol and Gestational Age at Hair Collection

Table 3: Scatterplot Between Maternal Hair Cortisol-Cortisone Ratio and Gestational Age at Hair Collection

Table 4: Generalized Linear Mixed Models of Prenatal Maternal Hair Cortisone and Sleep Trajectories

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