Impact of negativity, anger, stress on unborn baby?

Question

A few women on this board made me think of how their unborn babies might be impacted by all the negativity and stress.

Does anyone know of any good research on how stress impacts the fetus? I know we have a few doctors and other medical professionals, I am particularly interested in your opinions.

Also before you get all snippity, I posted anonymously because I didn't want anyone to think I was specifically talking about them.

Answer

There is definately an impact on the health of a fetus during times of stress & emotional turmoil within a mother. There are many great medical journals with articles published on the subject. Places like babycentre & thebump aren't the best places to find them unless u can verify their sources, but any major medical university, or scholarly article published in a medical journal or web urls ending in things like .edu are great places to start. One example is the cortisol levels of the mother which is a hormone increased during periods of high "stress" that can cause many adverse effects. When increased for prolonged periods, there has been evidence that shows increased rates of miscarriages, premature births, low birth weights, increase in blood sugar levels, alteration in brain function, and preeclampsia to name a few.

Answer

Have a look at research into the impact of domestic violence on a growing fetus and it'll show exactly how stress negatively impacts a growing baby and a newborn. It's a really scary thought to be honest! The research I've read is about ongoing and prolonged stress and not short periods of stress. But to put it simply, stress can impact the growing and connecting neural pathways and prevent them from connecting and allowing that development to occur. So you could imagine then how difficult it is to repair this damage. Babies being carried by mothers who are victims of family violence are also known to sit back in the uterus away from the violence and from my experience, I've seen babies behave in a way that suggests they're scared of the perpetrator of this violence - babies can hear from early on and this probably has some part in this.

Answer

The elders in my family always said that how you felt the baby felt. Happy. Sad. Angry. Etc. Your SO is supposed to do his best to make you happy and comfy during your pregnancy. And if he can't, your family. And if they can't, yourself :) I had a very difficult 1st pregnancy. Single mom. I loved the hell out of my belly and gave into every and any want. For myself. I encourage yall to love yourselves if you are currently pregnant if no one else does.

Answer

The university I graduated from do a lot of research on rats ( another controversial subject in itself) but they have proven that stress not the unborn child can cause prematurity and that prematurity will be passed on over the next 4 generations. Even if the latter generations are not stressed. Stress has HUGE negative impact on pregnancy and our future generations.

Answer

Stress does effect the baby but it doesn't lead to miscarriage. I had a stillbirth and I was stressed my whole pregnancy and that didn't lead to his  death it was my blood pressure that the dr over looked every time I had eclampsia at 12 weeks. You should relax during your pregnacy tho. I was 31 weeks about to be 32. I wish you the best just try and stay calm.

Answer

I'm not sure about the impact these factors have on the baby while in utero but extensive studies have shown that new mothers with depression/anxiety have less instances of language rich interaction and learning opportunities with their newborns. This causes the little ones to have a higher risk of developmental delays and poor attachment behaviors.

Answer

I'm just curious, to those that said they misscarries due to stress. How did the doctor diagnose that? I'm 8 weeks now and my husband and I moved in with my parents to help out and they are now going thru the beginning stages of separation and it's been incredibly stressful. Just curious how that's diagnosed over chomasomal abnormalities. Thanks!

Answer

My first pregnancy was perfect other than the stress that the father caused. The first trimester, I gained weight. The second, I didn't gain, didn't lose. The last trimester, I started losing weight. The doctor induced me a day after my due date, because she was so worried about the baby. My princess is almost two and perfect! 
My second pregnancy i miscarried due to stress at 10 weeks. ?

Answer

I found out mid January I was pregnant, about a month along. While I was waiting for my 8 week appt, I was going through a whole lot of stress with my 15 year old niece that I used to take care of. Problems with her getting suspended from school, stealing my car, cutting, threatening suicide, getting arrested, going back and forth from jail to mental health facility...February 25th, I was about 8 weeks and had my first appt, found out I miscarried about 2 weeks ago. I got to tell her while she was in mental health facility that I miscarried.

About a month of dealing with everything I had to deal her, I do feel played a big part of my miscarriage.

Answer

I don't think it can be good, I had a miscarriage due to all the stress in my life plus if it's bad for you it must be bad for baby. Just how bad, and how its affected I'm not sure.