Old wives’ tales have long linked bad moods during pregnancy to strange consequences. But the idea that stress during pregnancy will affect the baby may be rooted in actual science. Dozens of studies have found a link between

high levels of stress during pregnancy and risk for outcomes ranging from miscarriage to health and learning problems in the child, but researchers don’t quite agree on what these results mean, reports Sade Oguntola.

Basically,everyone feels some level of stress in day to day life. Stress seems to be a part of the human condition, although everybody processes that stress differently. A minor irritation to one person might be the cause of a nervous breakdown in another.

In pregnancy, this is also true. A pregnant woman worries at least a little bit during the pregnancy, whether it’s about the pregnancy or about other life factors such a hard day at work or house chores. Some level of stress during pregnancy is normal, but some worry a lot.

Stress has long been suspected as a possible cause of miscarriage, with several studies indicating an increased risk among women reporting high levels of emotional or physical turmoil in their early months of pregnancy or just before conception. A relationship has been noted, but researchers cannot conclusively, based on dozens of studies done, say “stress causes miscarriages”.

Sadly, miscarriage is one of the most devastating experiences that can happen to a woman. Having one miscarriage is, sadly, not that uncommon. Approximately two out of every 10 pregnancies will result in miscarriage. After having one miscarriage most women go on to have a healthy pregnancy. Still, there are a few women that will continue to have two, three or more miscarriages. Women are considered to have recurrent miscarriages when they have two or three miscarriages in a row.

An estimated 10 to 20 per cent of known pregnancies end in miscarriage. Although the cause of the majority of miscarriages is never established, obstetricians generally do not accept that healthy women can lose healthy babies solely because of stress. Miscarriages are usually attributed to chromosome abnormalities or health problems in the mother.

Chromosomes are tiny thread-like structures found in all the cells of the body. In order to grow and develop normally, a baby needs a precise number of chromosomes. If there are too few or too many chromosomes, the pregnancy may end in a miscarriage.

For instance, in a study carried out in a rural Guatemalan community and published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, indicated that women who exhibit signs of stress are three times more likely to miscarry during the first three weeks of the pregnancy. The researchers found that 90 per cent of the women, whose ages ranged from 18 to 34, with elevated levels of the stress-induced hormone (cortisol) miscarried during the first three weeks of pregnancy, compared to 33 per cent of those with normal levels.

What more, a 2008 Danish study of more than 19,000 pregnant women, those with a high level of psychological stress had an 80 per cent greater risk of stillbirth than women who had an intermediate level of stress during pregnancy.

Not every study looking at stress during pregnancy has found evidence of a link with miscarriage. A 2003 study found that women reporting high stress in early pregnancy did not have a higher risk of miscarriage when looking at stress alone, but the study did find that women under stress were more likely to use drugs like cigarettes and marijuana, which might be risk factors for miscarriage independently.

However, Dr Tunde Aremu, a consultant obstetrician and gyneacologist,Oyo State Hospital, Ring Road, Ibadan, Oyo State stated that miscarriage cannot be linked with ordinary stress and frustrations of modern life or to being startled suddenly by a sudden noise, say from a plate shattering on the floor or a barking dog.

Nonetheless, he stated that stress could cause miscarriage if it was severe, because of the injury it would cause to the body of a pregnant woman. As a result of the release of hormones in response to the stress, sometimes people lost their appetite.

“Unfortunately, there have been cases where breaking of a bad news to a pregnant woman had precipitated miscarriage,” Dr Aremu stated.

Dr Aremu stated that although there had being studies suggesting that stress can lead to miscarriage, while some say the contrary, the most common consensus is that excessive psychological stress is better avoided in pregnancy.

Certainly when stressed is talked about as a factor in pregnancy loss, many women may look back and conclude that they lost a pregnancy because they were stressed when they initially conceived, so leading to self-blame, especially in unexplained miscarriages. This, of course, leads to additional stress in worrying about how to stop worrying,” he said.

But regardless of the link with miscarriage, stress during pregnancy may affect the baby in other ways also and it’s always a good idea to make stress management a priority in one’s life. There are studies indicating that high levels of stress – such as that caused by a divorce, severe financial problems, or the death of a close family member – can affect a baby’s health during pregnancy.

According to a 2008 Danish study of more than 19,000 pregnant women, those with a high level of psychological stress had 80 per cent greater risk of stillbirth than women who had an intermediate level of stress during pregnancy.

In addition, other researchers have found that high stress levels can result in premature birth and low birth weight, and even lead to allergies and asthma later in life. And pregnant women who suffer the extreme psychological stress of being in a war zone are more likely to deliver a child who develops schizophrenia.

Stress may be unavoidable for many people, especially if you’re dealing with something like infertility or recurrent miscarriages, but it might be a good idea to look into doing whatever you can to alleviate your anxiety and to get your mind off things. In doing so, you might improve your odds for a healthy pregnancy as well as your overall health.

It is possible to reduce stress making lifestyle choices, which include being physically active at least 30 minutes a day; eating a healthy, well-balanced diet and drink enough water, get enough sleep (between six and eight hours every night) and imbibe relaxation techniques.