As to the associations between personality traits and anxiety or depression, research has mostly been conducted in men and nonpregnant women (Klein et al. 2010; Kotov al, 2010). We observed in our study that both high neurotilism and low extraversion are associated with increasing levels of both antenatal anxiety and depression, not contradicting our hypothesis that during pregnancy the associations of these traits with antenatal anxiety and depression are different (Kinsley and Amory-Meyer, 2011) We further hypothesised that the association between life events during pregnancy and the change in symptoms of antenatal anxiety or depression is modified by traits or childhood trauma.However, none of the pertaining interactions were substantial or significant. This is contrary to our expectations,Spinhoven et al. (2010) considered neurdticism as a mcdifier: however, they studied this personality trait as a modifier in the association between childhood trauma and anxiety or depressive disorders, whereas we considered childhood trauma to be an effect modifier itself. In addition, our study did not consider disorders but subsyndromal symptoms,Our findings did not identify childhood trauma as an effect modifier; which may indicate that having experienced childhood trauma does not make women more vulnerable to an adverse impact of life events during pregnancy. These findings are supported as well as contradicted by previous studies. For example, Comijs et al. (2007) did not find evidence for moderation of the association between life events and depression or anxiety by childhood trauma. However, this study consisted of an elderly population in which most reported childhood traumas were related to the Second World War. On the other hand, Brown and Harris (1978) found a moderating effect of a specific traumatic event, i e. loss of the mother during childhood, on the association of recent stressful life events and ongoing difficulties. Further Bifulco et al. (2000) found that in particular the combination of childhood trauma and negative life events in adulthood predicted recurrent depressive episodes in women. A possible explanation for the discrepancy of the findings in these studies with our observations is that they included people with anxiety or depressive disorders, not subsyndromal symptoms.