By Linda S. Mintle, Ph.D.
Psychotherapist
The way you deal with stress during pregnancy influences the way your baby develops in the womb.
SilasPartners.com - Did you know that the way you deal with stress during pregnancy influences the way your baby develops in the womb? That’s right. If you have stress and anxiety during pregnancy, you may have an early delivery, and a baby with low birth weight. However, if you think optimistically during pregnancy, the outcome is likely to be better. Optimism, it appears, is a predictor of birth weight, and stress is related to time of delivery. These are the conclusions of researchers who presented data at the 1999 APA annual convention in Boston.
These findings were based on studies conducted by Christine Dunkel-Schetter, Ph.D., of the University of California-Los Angeles; Ann Marie Yali, Ph.D., and her colleagues at the University of Pittsburgh; and Marci Lobel, Ph.D., and colleagues at State University of New York at Stonybrook. A summary of these findings appears in the October 1999 issue of the APA Monitor.
According to the studies, women who were highly stressed during pregnancy were four times more likely to deliver premature babies than the women who had experienced little stress.
A hormone known as CRH was used as a measure of stress. Researchers found that this hormone was higher at different times during pregnancy for women who deliver prematurely.
The study points out that it wasn’t the stressful events that affected the birth outcomes but rather the way the women responded to those events. If you are highly anxious about pregnancy, this may increase your risk for early delivery. Early delivery is associated with low birth rates.
The good news is that holding positive expectations or optimism about birth and delivery appears to positively affect the body. Optimism is associated with low stress. Women in the study who were optimistic believed they had control over the outcome of pregnancy.
What can we learn from these findings? Positive thinking pays off in pregnancy, as it does in many areas of life. Studies are uncertain as to whether it is the level of stress or the ability to think positively that is most important. Nevertheless, chances are you’ll benefit from managing stress and staying positive about your pregnancy.
If you believe in God, you have reason to be optimistic about the outcome of any life event. His hand is in it. We can call on him to help us deal with stress and know that he is ultimately in control of all things. Knowing that he walks with us through any difficulty reassures us and reduces stress.
Stay positive because you serve a great God who is always ready and willing to help you.
Dr. Mintle – author, professor, Approved Supervisor and Clinical member of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy – is a speaker and media personality, as well as a licensed clinical social worker with twenty years in psychotherapy practice. For more articles by Dr. Mintle, go to Counseling and Advice on the Health Channel.
