Nowadays, stress is increasingly present in people's lives. Job instability, traffic, violence, among others, are factors that interfere in our lives, robbing us of peace and tranquility. Everyone knows that stress causes a lot of damage to health, but sometimes the desire to overcome challenges is so uncontrollable that we end up giving in to this stressful lifestyle.
Unfortunately, today's woman, with so many tasks to perform (wife, housewife, professional), lives a stressful life, but inside she keeps the desire to be a mother. Many women who live a busy life want to be mothers and even plan well for it, but they forget that the stress experienced daily can affect their baby a lot.
Studies presented at the American Thoracic Society conference in Toronto report that pregnant women stressed can increase the chances of the baby suffering from respiratory allergies, especially asthma. According to the research, the fetus responds to the mother's stress by producing immunoglobulin E, an antibody related to the development of respiratory allergies. With emotional disturbance, the mother's organism reduces the barriers that prevent the baby from having contact with substances that are harmful to him. “Maternal defenses decrease and the baby is more prone to risks during this pregnancy”, says Lister de Macedo Leandro, gynecologist and obstetrician at Hospital São Luiz.
Other research carried out at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem School of Pharmacy and also at the Imperial College in London report that stress during pregnancy can delay the child's development, causing attention and learning problems, anxiety, depressive symptoms, delayed use of language, increased risk of having attention deficit disorder, hyperactivity and even autism. According to studies, stress during pregnancy has greater impacts on the baby than postpartum depression. Researchers still don't understand how the impact of stress on pregnancy can affect the fetus, but some evidence indicates that one of the causes may be an increase in the hormone cortisol, the hormone of stress.
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Pregnancy stress also increases the chances of a premature birth. “When pregnant women are stressed, they keep all their muscles tense, which can lead to premature labor,” says Eduardo Zlotnik, an obstetrician at the Albert Einstein Hospital. A study carried out in Denmark found that pregnant women with high levels of psychological stress presented 80% more chance of having premature birth, when compared to pregnant women with intermediate levels of stress.
It is very important that pregnant women have a smooth pregnancy and have adequate prenatal care to avoid all problems mentioned above, noting that the stressed pregnant woman needs extra care, especially if she is hypertensive or diabetic.
By Paula Louredo
Graduated in Biology
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
MORAES, Paula Louredo. "Stress in pregnancy"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/biologia/estresse-na-gravidez.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.
