This investigation examines a distal maternal stressor on the quality of interaction in mother-infant dyadic communication. Assessments include behavioral, physiological, and affective indices under conditions where distal stressors may not be directly detectable by the infant. The present research examines mother-infant interactions to test the hypothesis of whether maternal stress may be transduced to their infants via multiple pathways. The secondary aim is to explore effective emotion regulation strategies for the mother as potential buffers to stress and additionally reducing early life stress effects on the infant's regulatory development.