Maternal Influence on Childhood Respiratory Health
Summary
Maternal health before and during pregnancy exerts a profound influence on the respiratory trajectory of the child. Pre-pregnancy obesity and excessive or insufficient weight gain in gestation can programme inflammatory and metabolic pathways in the developing lung, while maternal asthma, diabetes and environmental exposures shape fetal immune maturation. Epigenetic modifications of key regulatory genes, altered placental function and dysregulated cytokine milieus contribute to changes in airway structure, smooth muscle reactivity and mucosal immunity. Maternal diet, smoking and glycaemic control interact to determine microbial colonisation of the neonatal airway, influencing the balance between tolerance and allergic sensitisation. These processes underlie variations in airway hyperresponsiveness, atopic risk and long-term lung function. Understanding these pathways offers opportunities for preconception and antenatal interventions to reduce the global burden of childhood wheeze, asthma and other respiratory disorders.
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Maternal Influence on Childhood Respiratory Health publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in maternal influence on childhood respiratory health across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Maternal gestational weight gain: The total weight a woman gains from conception to delivery, often benchmarked against clinical guidelines.
Gestational diabetes mellitus: A form of glucose intolerance first recognised during pregnancy, which may affect fetal growth and immune development.
Airway hyperresponsiveness: An exaggerated constrictive response of the bronchi and bronchioles to stimuli such as methacholine or allergens.
Bronchoconstriction: The narrowing of airway lumens due to contraction of smooth muscle, leading to airflow limitation.
Epigenetic programming: Stable alterations in gene expression during development that do not involve changes to the underlying DNA sequence, often mediated by DNA methylation or histone modification.
References
- Maternal high-fat diet programs offspring airway hyperinnervation and hyperresponsiveness. JCI Insight (2025).
- Early‐pregnancy BMI, maternal gestational weight gain, and asthma and allergic diseases in children. Pediatric Allergy and Immunology (2024).
- Cohort Study of Maternal Gestational Weight Gain, Gestational Diabetes, and Childhood Asthma. Nutrients (2022).
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