How does stress affect pregnancy in second trimester

Stress in Pregnancy Linked to Changes in Infant’s Nervous System, Less Smiling, Less Resilience

Maternal stress during the second trimester of pregnancy may influence the nervous system of the developing child, both before and after birth, and may have subtle effects on temperament, resulting in less smiling and engagement, as well as diminished ability to regulate emotions.

In a study led by UC San Francisco, researchers looked at the stress levels of 151 low-to-middle-income women who were between 12 and 24 weeks pregnant. The study was published in the journal Development and Psychopathology on Nov. 22, 2017.

The researchers followed the women throughout pregnancy and after delivery, and conducted a test to compare their reported stress levels during pregnancy with objective levels of stress in their 6-month-old offspring. In the test, the infants’ cardiac function was monitored while the mothers were instructed to look at the infant’s face but not interact with or touch them for two minutes following a brief play session.

The mothers reported the number of stressful life events they had experienced during pregnancy, which included illness, relationship problems, housing difficulties and legal issues. The babies of mothers with the highest number of these stressful life events – 22 of the 67 who completed the testing – were 22 percent more “reactive” than the 22 infants of mothers reporting the lowest number of stressful life events. They also recovered less quickly from the stressor, demonstrating lower resilience.

‘Reactivity’ Places Children at Risk

High reactivity, which is assessed by measuring the variability in the heart rate in conjunction with breathing, is indicative of a stronger decrease in parasympathetic nervous system activity in response to challenge, said first author Nicole Bush, PhD, of the UCSF departments of Psychiatry and Pediatrics, and UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences. The parasympathetic nervous system enables the body to rest and digest food, by slowing the heart rate and increasing intestinal and glandular activity.

Nicole Bush, PhD

“This isn’t automatically good or bad, but we know that being highly reactive places children at risk for a range of psychopathological problems, particularly anxiety and depression, as well as externalizing problems, such as disruptive behavior, especially if they experience adverse family and school environments.”

However, in an optimal environment with few adversities, children with higher stress reactivity “don’t have their stress response triggered too often and may exhibit better-than-average social skills and emotional and behavioral well-being, because greater reactivity can make them more sensitive to the benefits of positive relationships and experiences in their environments,” said Bush, who is also associate director of research at the UCSF Division of Developmental Medicine.

Additionally, questionnaires from the 151 mothers revealed that those in the top third, who had higher levels of perceived stress in pregnancy and post-delivery, had babies with temperamental “surgency” levels that were 8 percent lower than those babies of mothers in the lower third, who reported less perceived stress in pregnancy and post-delivery.

Surgency includes traits such as willingness to approach and engage with the outside world, as well as laughter and smiles. These same babies born to the highly-stressed mothers were also found to have 8 percent lower levels of self-regulation, the ability to manage emotions – such as soothing themselves in periods of high stress – compared with the babies of mothers with less perceived stress during pregnancy and post-delivery.

Healthy Families, Communities May Offset High Reactivity Impact

This combination of lower surgency and lower self-regulation can place individuals at added risk for depression, anxiety and difficulties with their social relationships, said Bush.

“At this point, we don’t know the lifelong impact of higher reactivity and lower surgency and self-regulation for these babies,” she said. “A lot will depend on other factors, such as families and communities. Providing healthy environments postnatally could buffer the negative impact of high reactivity and lower surgency and self-regulation. ”

The study was supported by funding from the National Institutes of Health, the Robert Wood Johnson Health and Society Scholars Program, and the Lisa and John Pritzker Family Foundation.

Co-authors are Karen Jones-Mason, PhD, Michael Coccia, Zoe Caron, Abbey Alkon, PhD, RN, Kim Coleman-Phox, Nancy Adler, PhD, and Elissa Epel, PhD, of UCSF; Melanie Thomas, MD, of Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center; Prathik Wadhwa, MD, PhD, of UC Irvine; and Barbara Laraia, PhD, RD, of UC Berkeley.

UC San Francisco (UCSF) is a leading university dedicated to promoting health worldwide through advanced biomedical research, graduate-level education in the life sciences and health professions, and excellence in patient care. It includes top-ranked graduate schools of dentistry, medicine, nursing and pharmacy; a graduate division with nationally renowned programs in basic, biomedical, translational and population sciences; and a preeminent biomedical research enterprise. It also includes UCSF Health, which comprises three top-ranked hospitals, UCSF Medical Center and UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals in San Francisco and Oakland, and other partner and affiliated hospitals and healthcare providers throughout the Bay Area.

Stress and pregnancy | March of Dimes

Stress is a common feeling during pregnancy. Physical discomforts and other changes in your daily life can cause stress during pregnancy.

Some types of stress may cause serious health problems, like high blood pressure, and lead to problems like premature birth.

Learn about ways to help manage some stresses in your life like talking to your health care provider and asking your partner, friends or family for help.

How can stress affect your pregnancy?

Feeling stressed is common during pregnancy because pregnancy is a time of many changes. Your family life, your body and your emotions are changing. You may welcome these changes, but they can add new stresses to your life.

High levels of stress that continue for a long time may cause health problems, like high blood pressure and heart disease. During pregnancy, stress can increase the chances of having a premature baby (born before 37 weeks of pregnancy) or a low-birthweight baby (weighing less than 5 pounds, 8 ounces). Babies born too soon or too small are at increased risk for health problems.

What causes stress during pregnancy?

The causes of stress are different for every woman, but here are some common causes during pregnancy:

You may be dealing with the discomforts of pregnancy, like morning sickness, constipation, being tired or having a backache.
Your hormones are changing, which can cause your mood to change. Mood swings can make it harder to handle stress.
You may be worried about what to expect during labor and birth or how to take care of your baby.
If you work, you may have to manage job tasks and prepare your team for when you take maternity leave.
You may worry about how you eat, drink and feel and how these things affect your baby.

What types of stress can cause pregnancy problems?

Stress is not all bad. When you handle it right, a little stress can help you take on new challenges. Regular stress during pregnancy, such as work deadlines, probably don’t add to pregnancy problems.

However, serious types of stress during pregnancy may increase your chances of certain problems, like premature birth. Most women who have serious stress during pregnancy can have healthy babies. But talk to your health care provider if you have these types of stress:

Negative life events. These are things like divorce, serious illness or death in the family, or losing a job or home.
Catastrophic events. These include earthquakes, hurricanes or terrorist attacks.
Long-lasting stress. This type of stress can be caused by having problems with money, being abused, being homeless or having serious health problems.
Depression or anxiety. Depression is a medical condition that causes feelings of sadness and a loss of interest in things you like to do. It can affect how you feel, think and act and can interfere with your daily life. It needs treatment to get better. Anxiety is a feeling of worry or fear of things that may happen. Both conditions may make it hard to take care of yourself and your baby. Depression and anxiety are common and treatable so talk to your provider if you feel depressed or anxious. If you have these conditions before pregnancy, talk to your provider before stopping or starting any medications. Quitting suddenly can cause serious problems for you and your baby. If you need to stop taking medicine or switch medicines, your health care provider can help you make changes safely.
Neighborhood stress. Some women may have stress from living in a neighborhood with poverty and crime.
Racism. Some women may face stress from racism during their lives. This may help explain why African-American women in the United States are more likely to have premature and low-birthweight babies than women from other racial or ethnic groups.
Pregnancy-related stress. Some women may feel serious stress about pregnancy. They may be worried about pregnancy loss, the health of their baby or about how they’ll cope with labor and birth or becoming a parent. If you feel this way, talk to your health care provider.

How does stress cause pregnancy problems?

We don’t completely understand the effects of stress on pregnancy. But certain stress-related hormones may play a role in causing certain pregnancy complications. Serious or long-lasting stress may affect your immune system, which protects you from infection. This can increase the chances of getting an infection of the uterus. This type of infection can cause premature birth.

Other ways stress can cause pregnancy problems include:

Normal pregnancy discomforts, like trouble sleeping, body aches and morning sickness may feel even worse with stress
You may have problems eating, like not eating enough or eating too much. This can make you underweight or cause you to gain too much weight during pregnancy. It also may increase your risk of having gestational diabetes and preterm labor.
Stress may lead to high blood pressure during pregnancy. This puts you at risk of a serious high blood pressure condition called preeclampsia, premature birth and having a low-birthweight infant.
Stress also may affect how you respond to certain situations. Some women deal with stress by smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol or taking street drugs, which can lead to serious health problems in you and you baby.

Many women worry that stress may lead to miscarriage, the death of a baby before 20 weeks of pregnancy. While extra stress isn't good for your overall health, there's no evidence that stress causes miscarriage.

How can post-traumatic stress disorder affect pregnancy?

Post-traumatic stress disorder (also called PTSD) is a disorder that develops when you have problems after you experience a shocking, scary or dangerous event. These events may include rape, abuse, a natural disaster, a terrorist attack or the death of a loved one. People with PTSD may have:

Serious anxiety
Flashbacks of the event
Nightmares
Physical responses (like a racing heartbeat or sweating) when reminded of the event

Women who have PTSD may be more likely than women without it to have a premature or low-birthweight baby.^{They also are more likely than other women to have risky health behaviors, such as smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol, abusing medications or taking street drugs. Doing these things can increase the chances of having pregnancy problems. If you think you may have PTSD, talk to your provider or a mental health professional. Treatments for PTSD include medications and therapy.}

Can high levels of stress in pregnancy affect your baby’s health later in life?

Some studies show that high levels of stress in pregnancy may cause certain problems during childhood, like having trouble paying attention or being afraid. ^{It’s possible that stress also may affect your baby’s brain development or immune system.}

How can you reduce stress during pregnancy?

Here are some ways to help you reduce stress:

Know that the discomforts of pregnancy are only temporary. Ask your provider about how to handle these discomforts.
Stay healthy and fit. Eat healthy foods, get plenty of sleep and exercise (with your provider’s OK). Exercise can help reduce stress and also helps prevent common pregnancy discomforts.
Cut back on activities you don’t need to do. For example, ask your partner to help with chores around the house.
Try relaxation activities, like prenatal yoga or meditation. They can help you manage stress and prepare for labor and birth.
Take a childbirth education class so you know what to expect during pregnancy and when your baby arrives. Practice the breathing and relaxation methods you learn in your class.
If you’re working, plan ahead to help you and your employer get ready for your time away from work. Use any time off you may have to get extra time to relax.

The people around you may help with stress relief too. Here are some ways to reduce stress with the help of others:

Have a good support network, which may include your partner, family and friends. Or ask your provider about resources in the community that may be helpful.
Figure out what’s making you stressed and talk to your partner, a friend, family or your provider about it.
If you think you may have depression or anxiety talk to your provider right away. Getting treatment early is important for your health and your baby’s health.
Ask for help from people you trust. Accept help when they offer. For example, you may need help cleaning the house, or you may want someone to go with you to your prenatal visits.

Last reviewed: October, 2019

Pregnancy stress threatens the health of the unborn child - DW - 11/07/2013

ScienceEurope

Vladimir Fradkin

November 7, 2013

It is well known that severe stress is harmful Now scientists have taken up the question of how the stress experienced by the mother during pregnancy affects the health of the child.

https://p.dw.com/p/1ADc4

Pregnancy, even if it is not the first, is, of course, quite stressful in itself. But even if this were not so, hardly any woman manages to avoid the stress caused by various events of everyday life for all nine months. And therefore, almost any expectant mother asks the question: how will the stress she experiences affect the child? Can the fear, pain, grief, irritation, or arousal of the mother be transmitted to the fetus in the womb? nine0003

Mother's stress hormone in the blood of the embryo

Not only can be transmitted, but are necessarily transmitted, although, of course, still not in full, doctors say. The placenta contains a number of hormones designed to protect the fetus from the harmful effects of cortisol, the mother's stress hormone. But it still penetrates into the blood of the embryo. True, there its concentration is about 10 times lower than the maternal one, however, it is also enough to have a significant effect on the fetal body.

And not just significant, but long-term, often even permanent. This conclusion was reached by a group of doctors led by Professor Matthias Schwab (Matthias Schwab) from the Hans Berger Neurological Clinic at the University Hospital of Jena. The scientists reported the results of their research at the 21st annual session of the German Somnological Society, which took place in Wiesbaden.

"Prenatal stress leads to a long-term increase in fetal cortisol levels and accelerates brain maturation," says Prof. Schwab, head of the Intrauterine Brain Development and Later Life Programming of Disease Working Group. pregnancy is a serious risk factor that increases the likelihood of a child developing later depression and other pathologies. nine0003

Dreams of a lamb in the womb of a sheep

Professor Schwab and his colleagues carried out their experiments on sheep, since in these animals the course of pregnancy and the formation of the embryo have a significant similarity with the same processes in humans. Pregnant - that is, pregnant - sheep, the researchers injected betamethasone, a synthetic glucocorticoid drug related to cortisol, which is often prescribed to women with the threat of premature birth. This drug speeds up the development of the lungs in the fetus, which increases the chances of a premature baby to survive. Betamethasone was administered to pregnant sheep at a stage corresponding in pregnant women to the period between the 25th and 32nd weeks. nine0003

At the same time, scientists monitored the intrauterine brain activity of embryos using electroencephalography. It turned out that betamethazole accelerates the maturation of not only the lungs, but also the brain, says Professor Schwab: “This is evidenced, first of all, by the early appearance of dreams. Usually, the formation of dreams occurs in the last third of pregnancy, and this development occurs very gradually. And betamethasone literally includes there is some kind of toggle switch in the brain, and dreams are formed in 2-4 days. " nine0003

Brain development inhibits cell growth and division

Another consequence of hormone administration was an abnormally frequent alternation of REM and non-REM sleep phases. This fragmentation of sleep, if it becomes permanent, indicates a high risk of developing depression later in life and, according to Professor Schwab, is often diagnosed in newborns whose mothers experienced severe stress during pregnancy.

The problem is that the premature maturation of the brain structures occurs due to a slowdown in cell division and body growth, the scientist says. This is confirmed by other doctors. “Children given injections to accelerate lung maturation showed a very significant increase in stress axis activity and had a markedly lower birth weight,” says Thorsten Braun, a gynecologist at the Charite University Hospital in Berlin. nine0003

Therapy with betamethasone is fraught with behavioral problems

In Germany, 8 to 10 percent of pregnant women receive betamethasone. The fact that this drug reduces mortality among premature babies by 31 percent has long been scientifically proven. However, animal experiments have shown that taking the drug also causes long-term side effects - in particular, hypertension - and also contributes to the development of cardiovascular diseases and diabetes in later life.

As far as humans are concerned, scientists have found, first of all, an increased risk of developing depression and behavioral anomalies. Recently, Professor Schwab and his colleagues examined 40 eight-year-old children who had previously undergone intrauterine therapy with betamethasone. Comparing the test results of these children with the test results of children in the control group revealed significant differences, the scientist emphasizes: ". Electroencephalography also showed that these children could not relax before testing, and could not concentrate during testing. nine0003

There is no reason to panic

Apparently, the increased content of the stress hormone in the blood at the stage of prenatal development leads to the fact that the body of the embryo gets used to this situation and begins to perceive it as the norm. "These babies are already programmed in the womb to produce too much of the stress hormone later in life," says Professor Schwab.

Dutch colleagues of a German scientist - physicians of the University of Tilburg - found that maternal stress affects the fetus most negatively between the 12th and 22nd weeks of pregnancy: its consequences make themselves felt even 20 years later. nine0003

But there is still no need to panic, says Prof. Schwab: "Stress during pregnancy is completely normal. And injections of betamethasone, this hormonal booster of lung development, are an important and necessary therapy if there are indications for it. You just need to keep in mind that an elevated level of stress hormone in the blood of the embryo appears to play a more important role in the development of later diseases than has been previously believed.

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Stress during pregnancy - how to deal with it | Mamovedia

Everyone knows that pregnancy is a period of many changes. Your body, emotions and the life of your family are changing. Of course, the expectant mother is happy with these changes, but with them, experiences can be added, and if a woman is very impressionable, then experiences can turn into stress. nine0003

Unfortunately, the feeling of stress is not uncommon during pregnancy, and if you experience it constantly, it brings some discomfort and negative consequences. As a result, sleep problems, headaches, loss of appetite, or, on the contrary, overeating begin. If a woman is under stress for a long time, this can seriously affect her health and, as a result, provoke high blood pressure or heart disease. The impact of stress on a woman's body during pregnancy can provoke preterm labor (before 37 weeks) or the birth of a child with a low birth weight, because babies born too early or too small are at increased risk and health problems. nine0003

What can cause stress during pregnancy?

There are many different reasons, these are physiological, hormonal changes in a woman's body, and psychological and emotional stress on the body can also be attributed here.

Here are some of the main causes of pregnancy stress:

pregnancy discomfort (nausea, constipation, fatigue or back pain)
changes in hormonal levels, which can lead to a change in your mood
concerns about your health, baby, or fears of childbirth itself
emotional and psychological stress at work

But life goes on and should not stop just because you pregnant.

Symptoms of stress

We all experience stress in one way or another every day (news, traffic jams, doing important work) of course this will not negatively affect our health and will not cause problems with pregnancy. But you should see a specialist if you experience the following symptoms:

Constant insomnia
lethargy, indifference to everything, apathy
decrease or lack of appetite
Frequent heartbeat
tremors (trembling of the limbs)
nervousness, tearfulness

In this case you have a more serious type of stress that you have a more serious type of stress that you have a more serious type of stress. can lead to certain health problems, so you should consult a doctor.

Effects of stress during pregnancy

In fact, women do not fully understand the effects of stress on pregnancy. In this condition, a special hormone rises - glucocorticoid, which is associated with the work of the placenta and can affect genes, as a result of which the consequences can be very serious. Prolonged stress can affect the immune system that protects you from infection. nine0003

... These include: fear, autism, fears and phobias, enuresis, the development of diabetes, problems with adaptation.

As you can see, the consequences can be serious, so try to avoid stress at all costs.

Control methods co stress ohm during pregnancy

Know that pregnancy is a period when you should be carried in your arms, you should not be upset about every occasion and take everything to heart.