Stress 'harms brain in the womb'

Infants were anxious and fearful Children whose mothers were stressed out during pregnancy are vulnerable to mental and behavioural problems like ADHD, mounting evidence suggests. Latest UK research by Professor Vivette Glover of Imperial College London found stress caused by rows with or violence by a partner was particularly damaging. Experts blame high levels of the stress hormone cortisol crossing the placenta. Professor Glover found high cortisol in the amniotic fluid bathing the baby in the womb tallied with the damage. The babies exposed to the highest levels of cortisol during their development had lower IQs at 18 months. The same infants were also more likely to be anxious and fearful, she told a conference of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. About a million children in the UK have neurodevelopmental problems - ADHD, cognitive delay, anxiety and so on. About 15% of this might be due to antenatal stress. Professor Glover Professor Glover said: "We looked at what stresses were most harmful. "We found that if the woman had a partner who was being emotionally cruel to them while they were pregnant it had a really significant effect on their baby's future development. "It really shows that the partner has a big role to play."

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Weird Episode

Just had a very weird episode. Not the first, maybe the 6th in about as many months, one yesterday. I feel really, really bad. Instead of beating, my heart feels like it is "squishing" and I feel like it's hard to breath. . like there is water in my lungs. There are various muscular pains in my back and chest and I get nauseated and dizzy.

This time I leaned back in my chair and when I stretched to give my lungs more room to get air, there was a good deal popping and there was a bit of easing of the pain. In some ways the symptoms are similar to what women who have survived heart attacks say they endured . . otoh, stretching and breathing seems to alleviate the pain. I still feel like someone is pressing a finger into my back about heart level and to the left of my spine. And the stress has caused all the muscles in my mid-section, which I had gotten to relax more lately, to tense up.

Interesting. We'll have to see if anything comes of this.