Maternal prenatal hair cortisol is associated with prenatal depressive symptom trajectories.

•Consistently elevated depressive symptoms associate with higher end-of-pregnancy HCC.•Cumulative mean of worries about relationships is related to higher mid-pregnancy HCC.•The observed associations between distress measures and HCC are generally weak.•HCC and self-reports of distress represent partially distinct phenomena.•Cumulative distress vs short-term symptoms should be measured in the context of HCC.