These researchers evaluated the relationship between perceived discrimination, self-rated health, and the stress hormone cortisol measured in late pregnancy among a diverse sample of 55 women living in Auckland, New Zealand. All were recruited from two antenatal care clinics in Auckland. Women were met in their homes between 34 and 36 weeks gestation, and were asked to complete a prenatal stress questionnaire and give saliva samples (morning and evening from two days). Offspring cortisol reactivity was assessed in 19 infants at the standard 6-week postnatal vaccination visit, in order to evaluate possible intergenerational impacts of maternal discrimination on stress reactivity. A total of 34% of women reported having experienced ethnic discrimination. Minority and immigrant women were more likely to report being angry or upset in response to discrimination experience compared with New Zealand-born women of European descent. Maternal discrimination experience was associated with worse self-rated health, higher evening cortisol in late pregnancy and higher cortisol reactivity in offspring, independently of ethnicity and material deprivation.
