What Happens to the Baby If the Mother is Stressed While Pregnant?

 What Happens to the Baby If the Mother is Stressed While Pregnant?

Getting pregnant is not an easy matter.  When pregnant, sometimes mothers are very worried about everything.  Hormonal changes in pregnant women are sometimes annoying and cause problems.  For example, mothers find it difficult to eat because of nausea, so they worry about whether the mother's intake is sufficient for the fetus, the mother has difficulty sleeping which causes stress, or the mother is too worried about childbirth, and so on.

 Stress during pregnancy is normal.  But if pregnant women often experience these conditions to interfere with their activities, the impact of stress can affect the fetus.  Babies in the womb are able to feel what the mother is experiencing because the mother transfers what she feels to the fetus through substances or hormones produced by the mother's body.

 The impact of stress during pregnancy affects the fetus

 When stressed, the body produces cortisol and other stress hormones.  If you can handle stress, your body's response to stress will decrease and your body will return to its original state.  But stress can be dangerous if you continue to experience it.

 Continuous emotional stress can alter the body's stress management system, causing the body to overreact and triggering an inflammatory response (inflammation).  Inflammation is associated with decreased pregnancy health and fetal development problems in the mother's womb.

 Research published in the journal Clinical Endocrinology shows that the stress a pregnant woman feels has an impact on her fetus.  Research conducted by prof.  Vivette Glover from Imperial College London and Dr.  Pampa Sarkar from Wexham Park hospital, Berkshire took blood samples from 267 pregnant women and amniotic fluid around the fetus in the womb.

 The study found that at 17 weeks of gestation or later, higher levels of cortisol in the mother's blood when the mother was stressed were positively associated with high cortisol levels in the amniotic fluid surrounding the fetus.  Research has also found that the relationship of stress experienced by mothers to the condition of the fetus is stronger by increasing gestational age.

 Cortisol (the stress hormone the body produces when we are anxious) is good for the short term because it helps the body deal with stress.  However, for long-term stress, cortisol can cause fatigue, depression, and make mothers susceptible to illness.  Further research is needed to reveal how the mechanism of maternal stress can affect the fetus, both during infancy and childhood.  However, based on this study it has been shown that high levels of stress during pregnancy have an impact on the fetus because stress hormones are transferred from the mother to the fetus via the placenta.

 Stress in pregnant women has an impact on preterm birth and low birth weight

 As reported by WebMD, Ann Borders, obstetrician at Evanston Hospital, NorthShore University HealthSystem said that there are some data showing that chronic stress that cannot be handled by pregnant women is associated with low birth weight babies (low birth weight) and premature birth.

 Research by Wadhwa, et al.  (1993) showed that mothers who experienced high levels of psychological stress during pregnancy were associated with lower birth weight and mothers were more likely to deliver preterm (before 37 weeks of gestation).  Wadhwa also said that several biological changes occur when the mother is stressed, including an increase in stress hormones, and an increase in the chance of intrauterine infection.  The fetus will respond to stress stimuli from the mother and adapt to the changes that occur.

 How to deal with stress during pregnancy?

 It's normal for pregnant women to experience stress.  However, pregnant women must be able to control stress, not feel guilty about stress which actually makes it worse.  Everyone has a different way of dealing with stress, so it's important to know yourself.  When dealing with stress, you can start by acknowledging what is stressing you out, then figure out how best to deal with that stress.

 Sometimes talking to other pregnant women can help you reduce stress because you share problems and exchange ideas with other pregnant women so you don't worry too much about your problems.

 Another way is to write down your problem.  Writing down everything that's on your mind can give you ideas for solving problems.  You can also do yoga or other sports that make you feel calm and relaxed.  Most important is to find a job that makes you happy.

 In addition, support from family, friends and those around you is very much needed to make you happy and ensure your health.  Avoid the slightest fight with people around you so as not to increase the burden on your mind.  Always try to think positive because it can make you feel good.