Recent studies have shown that neuroinflammation affects memory function. Brain programming induced by Glucocorticoids play an important role during the critical period of brain development. Chronic stress or high levels of glucocorticoids at late pregnancy in rats leads to increased neuroinflammation in the hippocampus. Adequate maternal care after birth could reverse the effects of prenatal stress and would improve spatial memory. However, the exact mechanisms through which postnatal maternal care could reverse cognitive impairments are not yet identified in the prenatally stressed male rat. In this study, in order to investigate the effects of prenatal stress and postnatal maternal care on the reactivity of astrocytes in the CA1 region of the hippocampus, prenatally stressed pups were divided into two groups after birth, and one group was given to the foster mothers. The number of GFAP + astrocytes in the CA1 region of the hippocampus was evaluated by immunohistofluorescence staining. Also, the performance of three-month-old stressed animals in a Morris water maze test was investigated. The results of this study showed that prenatal stress induces an augmentation in astrocytes reactivity in the CA1 region of the hippocampus and reduces spatial memory in three-month-old male springs. Compared to the stress+ normal adopt group, there was no significant difference in the number of GFAP+ astrocytes in the stress + foster adopt animals. However, the memory function in this group remained normal. Data from this study showed that maternal care after birth could not be able to reverse the effect of prenatal stress on the activity of hippocampal astrocytes in male springs, and might have a different mechanism for controlling the effects of prenatal stress on spatial memory function.

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