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:
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.
Babies whose mothers had PTSD also had lower levels of cortisol, compared to those born to mothers who did not develop the disorder.
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
Most people understand the extensive and devastating effects stress has on our health, but few fully appreciate the impact it can have on the unborn.
There are many people reading this who are suffering from health problems related to severe emotional trauma that occurred to their mother during the nine months they were being carried in her womb. Unless this is addressed, it is unlikely the person will ever truly regain their health or achieve optimal wellness.
My intention in sharing this is not to create additional stress for you, as there are tools that can remarkably repair this electrical and energetic short-circuiting in your body, and I list some of them below.
Rather than waiting for a potentially toxic miracle pill to erase unpleasant memories that may be the cause of your stress, or using one of the many dangerous options available to simply dull your sense of reality, consider these equally effective, safe and healthy alternatives for adapting to stress in your life:
Learn how to use the Emotional Freedom Technique, the proven energy psychology tool I use daily in my practice, as a means of adapting to your stress.
Limit your family's exposure to media outlets.
Use prayer or journaling--both of which are deeply therapeutic forms of emotional release--as a means of letting go of your daily troubles.
Work on building a positive outlook to buffer the effect of stress in your life.
Laugh as often as possible.
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