Prenatal risk factors for offspring depression: A critical review of the evidence and potential mechanisms

Exposure to adverse experiences in early life increases the risk of depression during adulthood. Recent findings have highlighted that exposure of a fetus to an adverse intra uterine environment may also have implications for later offspring depression. This review considers the status of the evidence for these associations and the potential mechanisms underlying prenatal developmental risks for later depression, addressing the challenging possibility that environmental predisposition to depression may begin before birth.