A new study sponsored by the National Institute of Health says pregnant women exposed to stress are more likely to deliver a stillborn baby.
Marian Willinger, PhD, author of
the study and acting chief of the Pregnancy and Perinatology Branch of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, says a total of 2,430 women were questioned — 614 women with stillbirths and 1,816 with live births.“We were surprised at how common stressful life events were in pregnant women’s lives,†Willinger told the Grio. “Those stressors could be financial, emotional, traumatic or partner-related.”
Almost one in five women with stillbirths and one in 10 women with live births had experienced five or more different stressful life events. Nearly all of the women had experienced at least one.
There was an increased chance of stillbirth with each new stressful event.
Read more about the study here.