Introduction:

stress is a physiological reaction of the body to threatening situations, whether social, physical or psychological.

Objective:

to determine the influence of maternal stress on embryonic and fetal development.

Methods:

a literature review was carried out, through a search of information in databases such as Scopus, Dialnet, SciELO and Redalyc. Other elements of the gray literature were included due to their importance for the subject matter.

Results:

the body exerts stress as a physiological response when a human being is under physical, mental or emotional tension, that is, in circumstances that are considered dangerous or threatening to the person. Maternal stress situations trigger physiological processes that end in the production of hormones and neurotransmitters such as cortisol, catecholamines, reactive oxygen species, cytokines and serotonin, which influence the health status of the fetus.

Conclusions:

maternal stress causes the baby to have neurological, morphological and other types of affectations, secondary to the affectation of the development of structures and processes. Among these affectations are the occurrence of autism spectrum disorders, susceptibility to psychiatric disorders, premature delivery, low birth weight and bronchial asthma.

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