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Stress Less for Babies

Of course everyone has stress. It's a natural part of life. But too much stress is never a good thing. Research now confirms that being very stressed out during early pregnancy may increase the chance of a miscarriage.

According to a study by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), pregnant women who are under a lot of stress during the first three weeks of pregnancy are nearly three times as likely to lose their babies in miscarriage. Researchers compared the levels of cortisol, which is elevated during stress, in pregnant women in Guatemala. They chose Guatemalan women because their lifestyles, cultural habits and ethnicity were so homogenous that it helped to rule out other factors.

The results were startling: When cortisol levels went up, 90 percent of pregnancies ended in miscarriage. Only 33 percent of pregnancies ended in miscarriages in women whose cortisol levels were normal. Previous studies have shown a link between stress and miscarriage in laboratory animals.

The message? If you are trying to get pregnant, or already are, get plenty of sleep.  Relax. It may just be the best thing you can do for that baby, and it will be good for you, too!

To see a copy of the study, go to http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/103/10/3938.

For more information on pregnancy, stress and miscarriage, read this article, or visit http://www.womens-health.co.uk/miscarr.asp or www.marchofdimes.com.

To read more about this and other environmental health issues, go to www.environmentalhealthnews.org, www.ourstolenfuture.org or www.healthandenvironment.org.