The main objective of this cohort is to investigate the mechanisms by which traumas suffered during the childhood of mothers influence the neurodevelopment of their offspring. This is an ongoing multicenter study that mainly involves the Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP), the City of Guarulhos and Columbia University (New York, USA). For the study, we recruited pregnant women with and without a history of childhood trauma, and we will follow up their offspring with cognitive control measures throughout their first two years of life.

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The study hypotheses link the trauma suffered by mothers during childhood to prenatal inflammation, placental biology, and brain and behavioral development in the offspring. Investigating these cross-generational mechanisms, this study will lay the groundwork for high-impact prevention research, while also establishing research infrastructure at a primary health care facility located in a high-risk, low-income community where prevention measures can have the greatest impact. .

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This study aims to recruit 400 women (200 with a history of childhood trauma and 200 control women) and their newborns, and receives NIH-FAPESP funding, a research grant shared by UNIFESP and Columbia University (New York,  USA).