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Role of Maternal Mindfulness in Longitudinal Mother-Infant Neuroendocrine Reciprocity in an Urban, Low-Income White Sample.

Kento Suzuki, Heidemarie K Laurent

Developmental Psychobiology May 1, 2026 DOI: 10.1002/dev.70153 (opens in new tab)

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Characteristics Longitudinal observational study Peer reviewed
Sample size 56
Population Predominantly White, urban, low-income mother-infant dyads in the United States followed from 3 to 18 months postpartum
Duration Followed from 3 to 18 months postpartum
Topics Meditation
Keywords Humans Hydrocortisone Longitudinal studies Stress, psychological Maternal behavior Mother-child relations Parenting Mothers Poverty Adult Infant Urban population Female Cortisol Physiological reciprocity Stress co‐regulation
Key findings Higher maternal mindful parenting, greater history of positive parental bonding, and lower parenting stress were associated with more inverse mother-infant cortisol reciprocity across timepoints. Parenting stress moderated the effect of mindful parenting: the inverse relation held for most dyads (60%), but reversed for those with the highest stress levels (top 9%).

Abstract

Mother-infant physiological reciprocity plays a crucial role in child well-being and development. While mindfulness in parenting has been linked to mother-infant stress responses, no research has examined its relationship with developmental trajectories of neuroendocrine reciprocity. This study addresses this gap by examining maternal mindfulness-both alone and in the context of parenting risk and protective factors-in relation to mother-infant cortisol reciprocity over time. Using data from 56 predominantly White, urban, low-income mother-infant dyads in the United States followed from 3 to 18 months postpartum, we tested maternal mindful parenting at 3 months as a predictor of both (1) within-session reciprocity of mother and infant cortisol responses to acute stress and (2) across-session reciprocity of developmental shifts in their cortisol levels from 6 to 18 months. Three-level hierarchical linear models revealed that higher maternal mindful parenting, greater history of positive parental bonding, and lower parenting stress were associated with more inverse mother-infant cortisol reciprocity across timepoints. In addition, parenting stress moderated the effect of mindful parenting: the inverse relation with reciprocity held for most dyads (60%), though reversed for those with the highest stress levels (top 9%). Findings delineate when and how positive versus inverse reciprocity may be adaptive and underscore the role of mindful parenting in mother-infant psychophysiological stress co-adaptation.

Comparable studies

Other observational and cohort studies on meditation, most cited first.

Study Year Design Participants
Using Self-Report Assessment Methods to Explore Facets of Mindfulness Undergraduate students 2006 Observational cohort
Effectiveness of a meditation-based stress reduction program in the treatment of anxiety disorders Patients with generalized anxiety disorder or panic disorder with or without agoraphobia 1992 Observational cohort n = 22
Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness Participants with extensive Insight meditation experience and matched controls 2005 Observational cohort n = 20
Meditation experience is associated with differences in default mode network activity and connectivity Experienced meditators and matched meditation-naive controls 2011 Observational cohort
Long-term meditators self-induce high-amplitude gamma synchrony during mental practice Long-term Buddhist practitioners and controls 2004 Observational cohort

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