Greater Stress Leads to Smaller Babies

In a recent study published in the September-October issue of Psychosomatic Medicine, researchers from the University of Miami School of Medicine found that women who reported greater levels of anxiety, depression, and stress from daily hassles had fetuses who were smaller and weighed less, according to ultrasounds and other measures. They also found a link between cortisol levels and the baby's weight, indicating that cortisol may be a way for mothers to transmit their stress to their babies in utero.

"One of the things this research highlights is that if you are pregnant and under extreme amounts of stress or feeling depressed, you should talk with your doctor about ways of treating these conditions during pregnancy," study author Miguel A. Diego said in a prepared statement.

This study not only highlights the potential dangers of a mother's stress level on her unborn baby, it shows more ways that excess cortisol can negatively affect the body, and ways that stress can affect health. And, whether or not you're pregnant, it's important to keep stress levels low and find healthy ways of coping with the stress that you do encounter before it becomes severe. The following resources can help with that:

• Stress and Health: Learn how stress can affect your body and impact your health, so you can better understand how to combat the negative effects of excess stress.

• Stress Basics: Follow this 'game plan' to reduce stress in your life, find ways of coping with the stress you do encounter, and maintain healthy habits for a low-stress lifestyle.

• Pregnancy: If you are pregnant, About's Pregnancy site has more resources and information for you to maintain a healthy pregnancy.

_Source:

_{Diego MA, Jones NA, Field T, Hernandez-Reif M, Schanberg S, Kuhn C, Gonzalez-Garcia A. Maternal Psychological Distress, Prenatal Cortisol, and Fetal Weight. Psychosomatic Medicine, September-October 2006.}