ScienceDirect Early Human Development Volume 164, published in January, 2022, includes a report of a study on how maternal trauma may be passed to a gestating infant in utero through a process called DNA methylation, which is involved in guiding gene regulatory processes in early development.

Theories of intergenerational trauma suggest that adverse childhood experiences (ACSs) experienced in one generation negatively affect the health and well-being of future generations, with DNA methylation being one of several potential biological explanations.

DNA methylation has been studied in relation to genetically transmitted syndromes leading to severe development defects, such as Prader-Willi syndrome, Angelman syndrome and Rett syndrome, and in the functioning of cancers.

Martin Kohmeier, in his book on Nutrient Metabolism (2003) notes, “Current evidence indicates that silencing by selective methylation regulates developmentally appropriate expression of genes and suppresses parasitic insertions. Hypomethylation of DNA due to suboptimal nutrient intake and metabolic disposition has been linked to an increased risk of cancer (Ehrich, 2002). Cancer of colon, cervix, breast, stomach esophagus, and other sites occurs with increased frequency in people with low habitual intake of folate…..Methylation of parental DNA imprints some genomic regions. Faulty imprinting is linked to severe developmental defects in Willi-Prader and Angelman syndromes (Nicholls and Knepper, 2001) and possibly much more common adulthood conditions such as obesity and diabetes (Cooney et al., 2002).”

A current study, led by Sarah R. Moore of BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute, Department of Medical Genetics, UBC, and involving researchers based out of various departments of the University of Calgary, have been testing whether infant DNA methylation can be demonstrated to be associated with intergenerational trauma.

Using data from the Alberta Pregnancy Outcomes and Nutrition (APrON) study, and data collected from mothers during pregnancy and postpartum on measures of distress, stress and ACEs, and from infants at 3 months of age on DNA from blood and buccal epithelial cell (BECs) sampling, with the blood and BEC samples being examined in separate analyses, preliminary results suggested that infant DNA patterns may relate to maternal ACEs, with some indication that maternal perinatal distress may be involved in elevating the likelihood of transmission.

The findings show that DNA methylation patterns in infants have been linked to prenatal and postnatal exposures and suggest that exposure to maternal ACEs may increase risk for mental and physical health problems in offspring.