SoS 262: Pregnancy Under Pressure with Dr. Kyle Wiley

In this episode, we talk with Dr. Kyle Wiley, Assistant Professor of Sociology & Anthropology at the University of Texas at El Paso, about how social and traumatic stressors during pregnancy become biologically embedded and shape maternal and infant health. Kyle shares his path into biological anthropology and discusses his biosocial research on perinatal health disparities in the United States and Brazil. We explore his work on interpersonal violence during pregnancy in São Paulo, Brazil, focusing on how trauma affects maternal and infant cortisol regulation and what this means for fetal programming and intergenerational health. We also discuss his recent research on pica among Latina pregnant women, which takes a novel approach by examining stress hormones and inflammation rather than micronutrient deficiencies. The episode closes with a look at Kyle’s new faculty role at UTEP, his current projects, and how he maintains work–life balance as an early-career scholar. ------------------------------ Find the work discussed in this episode: Wiley, K. S., Gouveia, G., Camilo, C., Euclydes, V., Panter-Brick, C., Matijasevich, A., Ferraro, A. A., Fracolli, L. A., Chiesa, A. M., Miguel, E. C., Polanczyk, G. V., & Brentani, H. (2025). A Preliminary Investigation of Associations Between Traumatic Events Experienced During Pregnancy and Salivary Diurnal Cortisol Levels of Brazilian Adolescent Mothers and Infants. American Journal of Human Biology, 37(2), e70004. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.70004 Kwon, D., Knorr, D. A., Wiley, K. S., Young, S. L., & Fox, M. M. (2024). Association of pica with cortisol and inflammation among Latina pregnant women. American Journal of Human Biology, 36(5), e24025. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.24025 ------------------------------ Contact Dr. Wylie: kwiley@utep.edu ------------------------------ Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and Human Biology Association: Facebook: facebook.com/groups/humanbiologyassociation/, Website: humbio.org, Twitter: @HumBioAssoc Chris Lynn, Host Website: cdlynn.people.ua.edu/, E-mail: cdlynn@ua.edu, Twitter:@Chris_Ly Courtney Manthey, Co-Host, Website: holylaetoli.com/ E-mail: cmanthey@uccs.edu, Twitter: @HolyLaetoli Cristina Gildee, SoS Co-Producer, HBA Junior Fellow Website: cristinagildee.com, E-mail: cgildee@uw.edu,