It is simple for one to understand how impacting parents' roles are in their children's lives, but after reading many articles, I am seriously considering never having children (not that I'm even thinking about that now at age 21, but that is besides the point). What it is difficult is imagining a stress-free life; can anyone truly ever catch a break? If you don't have assignments or exams to worry about, then you have a job to worry about; with that comes deadlines, performance, reputation, and you better be excelling at all three and then some if you want to keep that job. If somehow your job is not perfect, you're concerned about your family, especially children. Bleak, isn't it?
Stress involving children most likely start before they were even conceived, and one can not even imagine the thoughts racing rampantly through a pregnant woman's hormone-induced mind (bad joke?). Studies report that severe stress on a pregnant mother increases the chances of that child having behavioral and mental disorders, short attention span, low academic performance, as well as increased likelihood of drug-use. Negative impacts on the fetus are transferred through the negative impacts of the chronic stress of the mother. The constant prevalence of stress hormones are limiting in that they inhibit beneficial hormones involving growth and fetal brain development as well as development of other vital organs. Chronic stress impacts adults in that it increases susceptibility to illness, exhaustion, eating patterns (hyperphagic and/or hypophagic), and necessary endocrine derived cycles for healthy, daily functioning. All these impacts on the adult caused by stress, hinder necessary growth and functioning of the fetus; without the mother healthy, the fetus is more likely to encounter developmental/emotional problems, not only during fetal development, but also years after birth.
A pregnant mother must encounter stress on a daily basis in regards to: regulating diet for proper nutrition, exercising, increasing costs, and more. While it is impossible to completely banish stress from life, there are fortunately ways to subdue it to a beneficial level. Beyond expensive and time consuming classes that specialize in maternal/fetal health/relaxation strategies, there are many ways a pregnant mother can have a healthier, happier pregnancy. Exercise, taking necessary time off, and especially massage, can reduce stress effectively and beneficially. Yes, you read that correctly...some studies have found support in some stress being beneficial for both mother and fetus. Moderate amounts of stress are believed to be beneficial in immune function for the fetus as well as preparation for an easier delivery for both mother and fetus.
More commonly known, on top of behavioral and mental implications, stress on the mother can cause early term delivery. The placenta plays a significant role of regulation of the duration of the pregnancy; when the placenta senses more stress from the woman, it increases CRH production, thus, in some cases, causing pre-term birth.
While it may seem obvious to the average science student that stress on a mother negatively impacts a child's development/functioning, before and after birth, it may be difficult for one to accept just how long lasting the effects that nine months have on the rest of a person's life. Mental illness, a growing recurrence in the United States, may be combatted when time is set aside for stress management. Incurable mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia and chronic depression, may be able to be prevented if increased awareness and time is set aside for stress management. Pregnancy alone is already an enormous stress on a woman's body, stress management should be strictly enforced by OBGYNs.
Sources:
http://www.psychiatry.emory.edu/PROGRAMS/GADrug/Feature%20Articles/Mothers/The%20effects%20of%20maternal%20stress%20and%20anxiety%20during%20pregnancy%20(mot07).pdf
http://www.webmd.com/parenting/baby/crying-colic-9/stress-and-your-baby?page=2
http://www.webmd.com/baby/features/fetal-stress?page=2
This doesn't surprise me that stress has a large impact on a pregnancy, and further on the fetus. As we learned in Physiology, acute stress can be advantageous when it comes to various physiological mechanisms such as digestion, and reproduction. However, chronic stress whether it be a large amount at one time or a constant high level of stress, becomes extremely detrimental to these physiological mechanisms. One of the most profounding examples is on reproduction. Although stress does affect men, it is rather simple for a man to still produce sperm in which is capable of intruding the egg. However, for women (of course) stress causes the ovaries to be less stimulated to produce estrogen and progesterone which in turn lowers our chance of fertilization. It doesn't end there either! With a decrease in progesterone cause a decrease in the thickening of the uterine walls where, if fertilized, the egg attaches and begins to mature. Clearly, stress has a huge affect on the reproduction system prior to a pregnancy, therefore, it is of no surprise to me that the effects are extremely detrimental during pregnancy as well.
ReplyDeletePrinciples of Animal Physiology, Second Edition. Christopher D. Moyes and Patricia M. Schulte, Benjamin Cummings, 2008.Chapter 14
Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers: The Acclaimed Guide to Stress, Stress-Related Diseases, and Coping, Third Edition. Robert M. Sapolsky, St. Martin’s Press, 2004. Chapter 7