Exploring autonomic regulation in maternal mental health: Physiological pathways underlying pregnancy, stress, and neonatal outcomes

The field of autonomic neuroscience provides a powerful framework to understand how physiological regulation underlies maternal mental health and perinatal adaptation. During pregnancy and the postpartum period, autonomic, neuroendocrine, and immune systems interact dynamically to maintain homeostasis in the face of emotional and physiological experiences and challenges. Maternal mental health conditions — including perinatal depression, anxiety, and stress-related conditions — have been increasingly recognized as significant contributors to adverse outcomes for both mothers and their infants. However, the underlying autonomic mechanisms that link psychological states to biological function remain insufficiently explored. Recent studies highlight that alterations in heart rate variability, vagal tone, and sympathetic–parasympathetic balance reflect the degree of stress adaptation and may predict emotional states, resilience, and perinatal outcomes. Despite this knowledge, the integration of autonomic biomarkers into clinical and translational research on maternal mental health remains limited, underscoring a need for mechanistic clarity and cross-disciplinary approaches.This Research Topic aims to deepen our understanding of the role of autonomic regulation in supporting or disrupting maternal mental health across pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period. By examining physiological pathways involving heart rate variability, vagal tone, and neuroimmune signaling, the Topic seeks to clarify how autonomic dysregulation contributes to stress, anxiety, and depression and influences neonatal adaptation across physiological and developmental domains. It also aims to bridge mechanistic and clinical perspectives, advancing translational insights into the autonomic correlates of maternal stress regulation and emotional well-being. The Topic is human-centred in focus. To support translation between laboratory and clinic, this Topic also welcomes preclinical/animal-model studies, but only where they directly address maternal mental health or perinatal outcomes and carry explicit translational relevance; purely basic-mechanism or animal-model work without a clear maternal/perinatal application falls outside the scope. Contributions integrating neuroscience, obstetrics, psychiatry, and physiology are encouraged to illuminate multilevel processes that connect central autonomic circuits with peripheral physiological responses.To gather further insights into the autonomic mechanisms shaping maternal and infant health, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:- Heart rate variability and vagal tone during pregnancy and postpartum- Sympathetic–parasympathetic regulation in maternal stress and mental health- Neuroimmune and neuroendocrine pathways in perinatal autonomic adaptation- Autonomic biomarkers associated with maternal and neonatal outcomes- Physiological responses to stress, trauma, and emotional regulation during pregnancy- Wearables, digital biomarkers, and remote monitoring of autonomic function- Preclinical and animal-model studies that directly inform maternal mental health or perinatal outcomes, with explicit translational relevance to clinical or population-based questions- Translational and population-based studies linking autonomic physiology with maternal and infant healthThis Research Topic welcomes original research articles, reviews, clinical studies, and methodological papers focused on autonomic mechanisms related to maternal mental health and perinatal outcomes, drawing on both human and preclinical/animal-model research. Topic editors: Nicolò Pini, Jimena Fritz Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/82636/exploring-autonomic-regulation-in-maternal-mental-health-physiological-pathways-underlying-pregnancy-stress-and-neonatal-outcomes