Children Benefited By Moderate Maternal Stress?

The researchers followed 137 women from mid-pregnancy though their child's second birthday. Self-reported anxiety, pregnancy-specific and nonspecific stress and depressive symptoms were collected from expecting mothers during mid-pregnancy. Ninety-four children were assessed for mental and motor development, as well as their ability to control their behavior and regulate their emotions, at 24 months of age.

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"Our findings should provide relief to women who are experiencing the normal anxieties and stresses common to the demands of modern life. In essence, women can stop worrying that their emotional state is harming their unborn baby. Obviously, we don't recommend that women seek out stress, because maternal exhaustion is not good preparation for labor and delivery and the demands of child rearing," said DiPietro.

Addressing the difference in their study findings when compared to previous animal studies on the same topic, the Hopkins researchers note that the timing and severity of prenatal stressors, as well as the controlled environment in animal studies, differ greatly from the day-to-day lives of actual expectant mothers.

However, the authors caution that because the participants in the study were mostly well-educated, financially stable women who did not have clinically diagnosed psychological problems, the results may not extend to more disadvantaged women or those with mental health disorders. Further research is necessary to determine whether the findings are a result of biological changes to the pregnancy as a result of stress or whether women who are more anxious or feel more stress are more likely to raise their children in ways that may encourage child development. There may even be a genetic component, explained DiPietro.

Source: Eurekalert