Does a mother's mental health affect her fetus? (Part 1) - interview with Catherine Monk | VIEWPOINT

It's apparent that a pregnant woman's physical well-being can affect the health of her fetus. But what about her mental health? AEI's Katharine Stevens and Columbia University's Dr. Catherine Monk discuss the effects of maternal stress during pregnancy on babies’ neurobehavioral development and future well being.
ARTICLE - The importance of the first five years: Katharine Stevens’ testimony on Capitol Hill goo.gl/2k8PpU
ARTICLE - What does early childhood have to do with America’s workforce problem? A lot, actually goo.gl/6hhL5z
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[@listener523]

Does Monk have any suggestions for books on the subject? I started getting interested in neonatal environment after reading some of Sopalsky's work on glucocorticoids but would prefer something more specifically focused. I mean I'll check out the articles but I like to really dive in on these things.

[@veroniquemead3453]

Peter Nathanielz has an older book on this subject called Nathanielsz, P. (1999). Life in the Womb: the origin of health and disease. Ithaca, NY, Promethean.
Richard Francis writes about this topic and how it affects genes via epigenetics: Francis, R. C. (2012). Epigenetics: how environment shapes our genes New York, W. W. Norton & Company: 256.

[@alanamciver3592]

My father died when my mother was 8 months pregnant with me. My stepfather died when I was a teenager because he was a chronic alcoholic and it killed him. I’ve been diagnosed with clinical depression since my early teens. I’m heavily medicated and still have awful days. This video has made me understand why I have struggled so much throughout my life. I just wish I could be normal 😢

[@bandgeekforlife406]

My sister-in-law was very stressed out and anxious during her 1st pregnancy. Her 1st kid is a bit of an anxious child. My sister-in-law was much more calm and less worried during her 2nd pregnancy. Her 2nd child is much more self-assured. My sister-in-law was worried and stressed again during her 3rd pregnancy (though not as much as her 1st). Her 3rd kid is less emotionally balanced than the 2nd, but more-so than the 1st. Is all of this anecdotal? Yes. Is it correlative? Absolutely. Does it, nevertheless, suggest certain conclusions? Potentially. If the mother is experiencing more stress hormones than normal, it makes sense that the child within her would also experience those hormones. This doesn't have to be about "crazy" women, just about the daily stresses that all human beings experience. The take-away is this- if you are a pregnant woman, do your best to stay calm and emotionally stable, for the good of your pre-born infant. Remember, you're emoting for two! :D

[@kmg501]

Fascinating conversation. I think a lot of people aren't going to like the realization that working pregnant women is probably a bad idea. And also single pregnant women is likely a bad idea since a provider male is not present. This is going to be a contentious area in our current hyper PC environment...

[@143CHANTAL]

kmg501 I was far less stressed my first pregnancy as a single parent. Calmer than I’ve ever been actually. I even stopped biting my nails during that pregnancy because I no longer felt the need or desire to do so. I do understand why you’d think a women would be more stressed though. Men can definitely be stressors to women in pregnancy and unfortunately separating ourselves from them during this time can actually be beneficial for some.

[@veroniquemead3453]

To speak to some of the comments - The fetal origins of adult disease (FOAD) has been making tremendous discoveries and strides since WWII and includes a study of women exposed to the extreme stress of WWII during the Dutch Hunger winter. While initial studies focused on nutritional stress it's since been found that emotional stress has just as strong of an effect on babies and children. Prenatal stress can affect birth size and risk for chronic diseases such as heart disease, obesity, and diabetes in adults. And boys develop in the womb too - so it's not just a need to care for and support women but to care for famiiies and children. Studies by Antonio Madrid have shown that stress in this time frame is a risk factor for asthma and that helping mothers heal from difficult or traumatic events during this early time frame can often cure asthma in their kids. Thanks so much for this great interview!
Veronique Mead, MD, MA

[@af146983]

So if a woman who is genetically disposed for depression, gets pregnant and gets depressed, has a baby ( that is probably also genetically disposed of depression) when that baby grows up and gets depressed it's mostly because of fetal development stressors? I need to see a little more causation and less correlation

[@RIRIany]

I like scientific reason like this. Thx for educate many mothers out there for a better world!

[@Niki-mo1wf]

I had an extremely stressful pregnancy due to the father of my baby. He didn't want her and I did. He called her "it" for the first year of her life. That was it for me. I threatened to finally leave if he didn't straighten up. Fast forward, I developed Bipolar disorder when our daughter was in elementary school and she developed Type 1 diabetes. Nobody on either side of the family has Type 1. I believe a collation between stress and Type 1 diabetes can be found.

[@marilyncole3560]

Wondering about mothers perhaps teenage mothers that do not want the baby,and very unhappy about the fact that they got pregnant, crying extremely upset, end of the world, perhaps past the time frame for an abortion so forced to continue to give birth, and how does that affect the child. Boyfriend left after the pregnancy, extremely stressful

[@dorisbrown1921]

The stomach is your second brain. If you have a unhealthy digestion system it can cause all kind of mental problems. It can be passed down from mother to child. I know someone who had depression and schizophrenia, healed her digestion system and no longer has depression or schizophrenia.

[@aikoyu9815]

Ellen G. White a world renowned author had books especially dealing with prenatal health mentioning the correlation of the Mother's stress and the impact it affects and gives to the fetus that whatever the Mother experiences, the fetus also experiences. She wrote on these topics in the 1870s.

[@aprilalfaro4964]

Hello! Have you tested mothers who are drug users and pregnant? Then they give up their child for adoption? And their adoptive parents deal with behavioral issues

[@MeMe-ht2hd]

As an African-American, I can only guess what racsim does to children's mental state and health.

[@Tamoiii]

Mmm hmmm

[@derekkamm1759]

Stimuleeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!