Stress can do a lot of negative things to your unborn baby when you're pregnant.
When you're pregnant and stressed, you can increase the risk of the unborn baby developing complications such as low birth weight, preterm birth as well as potentially affect the baby's brain development, behavior and even their own stress response as they grow older.
Chronic stress when you're pregnant can result in premature delivery or even the baby being born underweight, and can cause health complications in the baby.
High levels of stress when pregnant can also impact the development of the baby's brain and lead to issues with the baby's own emotional regulation as well as their behavior later on in life and into adulthood.
Also children that are born to mothers that experience high levels of stress during their pregnancy are more prone to anxiety and also have a heightened stress response.
And prenatal stress also can result in epigentic changes, which can also affect gene expression and can have long lasting effects on the child's health and development.
Being stressed during pregnancy and prenatal stress also is linked to the baby having an increased risk of developmental delays, immune system problems and even a predisposition to certain mental health conditions later in the child's life.
Also untreated anxiety during pregnancy can also interfere with the mother's ability to bond with the baby both during the pregnancy and after delivery.
Some stress is normal during pregnancy and mild stress from everyday life is not likely to cause harm to the unborn baby although higher stress levels may result in problems with the pregnancy and the unborn baby.
Managing your stress levels is crucial when you're pregnant and if you're experiencing high levels of stress, it's essential to seek out support for the stress and learn some healthy coping mechanisms for the stress.
Addressing your stress during pregnancy can help you mitigate some of the potential negative effects on the baby.