Worrying effects of pregnancy stress

They tell us it’s the most pleased time of our lives – preparing for and welcoming a new baby. But figures increasingly show that stress and nervousness are derailing what must be a joyous experience for new and prospective mums.

Investigate shows it is also putting babies at risk of long-term behaviour and mental health problems.

Even as ante and postnatal depression are now recognised as vital, potentially weakening issues for affected mothers and their family, the experience at King Edward Monument Hospital shows that nervousness and stress disorders have be converted into an even larger conundrum.

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In the 2008-09 financial year, women referred to KEMH’s sphere of psychological medicine were very nearly three times more likely to be diagnosed with nervousness or stress and adjustment disorders as with a mood disorder such as depression or bipolar affective disorder.

Sue Somerville, a consultant clinical psychologist and associate head of the sphere’s Consultation Liaison Benefit – which provides mental health services at the hospital – says there appears to be no one reason for the trend, but very a collection of influences. These include financial pressures and job doubts, relationship conflict, isolation, lack of social help, pressures associated with accidental pregnancy and unrealistic or inflexible expectations. She says the media and marketing also play a role in background up unrealistic expectations, invariably portraying mothers and babies that are perfect and pleased.

“You seldom see a baby in an advertisement that’s really miserable and dribbling since they’re teething and the mother that really hasn’t slept for three days,” Ms Somerville says. “There’s an expectation that women will be able to have it all. They’ll be able to be productive, creative and take up again to say to the family finances, have a gorgeous home, the perfect baby that sleeps and feeds four-hourly – and that really isn’t the reality for many public.”

Another huge shape is an increasingly Google-literate population, able to access an overwhelming amount of unedited, contradictory and often inappropriate in rank.

“The more Google-literate we are, the more able to find in rank to frighten ourselves with,” Ms Somerville says.

Grown-up women apt mothers for the first time also face challenges, perhaps finding themselves caught in a “sandwich generation” with grown-up parents who can’t provide much help or who need care themselves, and modest babies to take care of.

Investigate done by WA’s Telethon Institute for Child Health Investigate (TICHR) and elsewhere over the past five being has shown that women who experience multiple stressful actions during pregnancy are more likely to have a child who is at risk of behavioural problems such as conduct disorder, ADHD, aggressive delinquent behaviours, and internalising behaviours like nervousness, depression and social withdrawal.

“We’re not looking at foremost shock here,” says Monique Robinson, a researcher and psychologist at the Telethon institute.

“My work looks at more everyday stress actions – cash problems, relationship problems, problems with other family, job loss – those sorts of actions,” Dr Robinson says. “We establish that rising numbers of those sorts of actions really did impact on the child similar to how a foremost shock would.

“It’s more in this area in quest of help when there’s a feeling of being overwhelmed – but surely not getting more stressed in this area the stress itself.”

Dr Robinson adds that the reasons stress or nervousness impact so heavily on the developing child are complex and not yet well unwritten. Other factors will also play a role in the child’s development as they grow grown-up, counting genetic influences, maternal depression, economic hardship and the kind of parenting the child receives.

Dr Robinson says there is a clear link between stress and nervousness in pregnancy and shortly behaviour or mental health issues. The TICHR examine establish the connection remained strong even when other risk factors were full into tab.

“We’ve learned that it’s a complex association very than one simple explanation, whether it’s biological or genetic or through parenting,” she says. “I reckon we’ve established it’s probably all of those things.”

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