Pregnant women should steer clear of stressful events, as high
stress levels could have an adverse effect on their unborn babies.
According to a study, pregnant women who witnessed the World Trade
Center attacks on 9/11 passed on biological signs of stress to their
babies.
Researchers examined 38 women who were pregnant while at or near
the World Trade Center when it was attacked. The women were asked
what stage of their pregnancy they were at on 9/11 and were assessed
for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD); saliva tests were administered
on the mothers and their babies when the infants were 1 year old.
Results revealed:
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Women who developed PTSD had lower levels of cortisol--which
helps the body to raise blood sugar levels and blood pressure
in response to stress--than to those who did not.
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Babies whose mothers had PTSD also had lower levels of cortisol,
compared to those born to mothers who did not develop the disorder.
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Hormonal changes were most evident in mothers carrying their
babies during their last trimester when 9/11 occurred.
Thus, the effect of stress on the babies depended on the stage
of pregnancy the mother was at when she experienced the stressful
event.
And, according to one researcher, the transmission of trauma has
often been linked to the way mothers communicate those experiences
to their children. But because babies were tested when they were
1 year old, researchers believe this transfer of trauma could be
accredited to such factors as early parent-child bonding, shared
genetic susceptibility and even the presence of cortisol in the
womb.
Researchers plan on following the babies involved in the study
as they grow up to see if those with lower cortisol levels go on
to develop psychological disorders when they are older.
Journal
of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism May 3, 2005
BBC
News May 3, 2005
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