The strongest evidence for an adverse effect of PMA exposure is in somatic and psychological outcomes ; the evidence for an effect of PMA on child development is inconclusive .
Several decades of research have focused on the impact of exposure to postnatal depression on children , while anxiety has been largely overlooked .
Estimates of the prevalence of postnatal maternal anxiety ( PMA ) range from 3 % to 43 % , suggesting PMA may be an important risk factor for adverse outcomes in children .
This review summarizes what is known about the effects of  PMA exposure on children and makes recommendations for future research .
Early parental and child predictors of recurrent abdominal pain at school age: results of a large population-based study.
OBJECTIVE To assess whether parental psychological and physical factors and child factors measured in the first year of life were associated with  recurrent abdominal pain ( RAP ) in children at age 6(3/4 ) years . METHOD A longitudinal cohort study ( the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children ) , followed 8,272 children from pregnancy to age 6(3/4 ) years . Parental reports of child and parent functioning were gathered . Associations between parental and child functioning assessed at 6 to 8 months postpartum , and RAP measured at age 6(3/4 ) years were investigated . RESULTS The prevalence of RAP in this sample was 11.8 % . Both maternal anxiety ( adjusted odds ratio = 1.53 ; 95 % confidence interval 1.24 - 1.89 ) and paternal anxiety ( adjusted odds ratio = 1.38 ; 95 % confidence interval 1.12 - 1.71 ) in the first year of a child 's life were associated with later childhood RAP . Parent reports of child temperament features such as irregular feeding and sleeping were also associated with later RAP . CONCLUSIONS This is the first evidence from a prospect i ve study that anxiety in both mothers and fathers and child temperament features pre date the occurrence of RAP in children . These findings highlight the potential importance of addressing parental anxiety in families in which children present with RAP , although some caution should be exercised in their interpretation because of possible reporting bias
The strongest evidence for an adverse effect of PMA exposure is in somatic and psychological outcomes ; the evidence for an effect of PMA on child development is inconclusive .
Several decades of research have focused on the impact of exposure to postnatal depression on children , while anxiety has been largely overlooked .
Estimates of the prevalence of postnatal maternal anxiety ( PMA ) range from 3 % to 43 % , suggesting PMA may be an important risk factor for adverse outcomes in children .
This review summarizes what is known about the effects of  PMA exposure on children and makes recommendations for future research .