Stress Found To Affect Unborn Babies
According to new research from a study at Imperial College London and Wexham Park Hospital Berkshire, stress in an expectant mother can have an effect on the foetus from as early as 17 weeks after conception.
The amount of the stress hormone cortisol was measured in the blood of 267 mothers and the amniotic fluid surrounding their unborn babies. The study was the first to demonstrate how unborn babies are affected by their mother’s stress hormones, however the researchers expressed that these findings should not unduly worry expectant mothers.