Commentary: Natural disaster studies on prenatal stress – moving forward – a commentary/reflection on Nomura et al. (2023)

This commentary is based on the premise that the goal of scientific publications is to advance knowledge and inspire scientific discussion. First, the Nomura et al. paper is briefly summarized and shortly discussed to illustrate some of the challenges faced in this field, and suggestions for improvement are made. Then, the reader is invited to take a step back and reflect on how to continue investigating the effects of natural disasters on pregnant women and their children in the best possible manner. Additional suggestions are made for much-needed research on other types of severe maternal prenatal stress and on high-quality interventions for natural disasters. The goal is to stimulate reflection and exchange so that future choices made by researchers, funding bodies, and policymakers lead to substantial advances in the field of prenatal stress.