Newport Beach Chiropractor: Maternal Stress During Pregnancy May be Detrimental to Your Child's Health

The truth is most women today are not familiar with the birth process and there's a fear that may go along with not knowing/understanding the birth process. I just read a study on maternal stress during pregnancy and how it can effect the neurology and brain development of a child. During pregnancy a woman's blood pressure, her uterine size as well as baby's heart tones are measured and monitored. I believe that her supportive network and psychology is just as important and lack of them can be detrimental to the child's health. Maternal stress and lack of support and education during pregnancy has also been linked to the size of the baby.

Dr. Pampa Sarkar who is the lead author and researcher of this study explains the negative effects of stress/cortisol on the baby: "We are all a product of our developmental history. One of the times when we are most susceptible to the influences of our surrounding environment is when we are developing as a fetus in our mother's womb. Our research shows that the fetus is exposed to cortisol in the maternal blood" He goes on to explain that this correlation became stronger with increasing gestational age.