User:Ajaslay/Prenatal stress
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Prenatal stress has increased as a result of the recent changes caused by the covid-19 pandemic. Researchers are attempting to determine how the pandemic relates to prenatal stress, why so many women are experiencing stress and anxiety, and how these issues can be avoided. Researchers conducted a study by developing a questionnaire for pregnant women that included age, sex, race, health insurance status, financial status, any pregnancy risks, medical conditions, treatments, doctor's appointments, how many appointments were canceled due to covid-19, and stress levels on a scale of mild, moderate, and severe. Three-quarters of the research participants were white or non-hispanic, according to the questionnaire. There were 280 women who reported mild cases, 170 who reported moderate cases, and 171 who reported severe cases. Following the questionnaire, researchers discovered that mothers were experiencing high levels of anxiety and stress because they were afraid of contacting the covid virus and having the virus affect their fetus, having one person in the delivery room, and making online appointments without being checked in person. As a result, researchers proposed that there should be in-person engagement for the mother, information provided to the mother about covid-19 and the protocols to reduce the risk of contacting it, and consistent check-in appointments to check the mother's mental health status.
Impact on development
[edit]Poor eating habits and lack of physical activity are not the only contributing factors to prenatal stress on the baby. Stress on the mother during pregnancy can lead to issues cognitive development, social development and more.[1] A great deal of brain development happens during the fetal period in pregnancy and the progress happens rapidly in this stage.[2] Since there is such a large amount of growth occurring during this time-period in the child's life, there are a lot of outside factors in the environment that can affect this development.[2] These outside factors could be anything from poor nutrition, excess cortisol levels or even genetic influences. The fetus's development can be impacted through the level of the placenta, there is evidence to show how prenatal stress can have consequences on the placenta and in turn the fetus during pregnancy.[1]
The resulting effects can impact many different areas of the developing child's brain, such as the hypothalamus, corpus callosum, amygdala, hippocampus, and cerebellum. Animal studies have shown that prenatal stress may result in reduced hippocampus volumes and amygdala nuclei volumes, both of which may have a negative impact on memory.[1] There is indirect evidence to suggest that prenatal stress could alter the size and morphology of the corpus callosum, and it is known that alterations in the corpus callosum are observed in autism, ADHD, and schizophrenia.[1] Furthermore, alterations to the cerebellum may also be involved in autism, ADHD, and schizophrenia, and prenatal stress may also play a role in altering the physiology of the cerebellum. Studies done in rats have shown that prenatal stress may affect the size and number of granule cells in the cerebellum, as well as cause an increase in the number of Purkinje cells.[1] Also shown in rats, there is evidence to suggest that prenatal stress can result in the feminization of males by reducing the volume one of the hypothalamic nuclei that is involved in the sexual behavior of males. [1]
These impacts have mostly been noted in animal studies because of the concerns that surround human studies with prenatal stress.[1] The ethical concerns with human studies and prenatal stress have led to little to no studies showing the direct impacts stress can have on fetal development, and it has shown to be difficult to draw inferences and connections between the animal studies and human pregnancies.[1] It has been suggested that one way to monitor the impact of stress on the infant's development is through the mother's exposure to natural disasters.
To do List
- combine gender roles and gender differences in hormones
- kasi - add content on actual impacts
- kirsten - add rest about natural disasters
- zach - add references to pathway section
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- ^ a b c d e f g h Charil, Arnaud; Laplante, David P.; Vaillancourt, Cathy; King, Suzanne (2010-10-05). "Prenatal stress and brain development". Brain Research Reviews. 65 (1): 56–79. doi:10.1016/j.brainresrev.2010.06.002. ISSN 0165-0173.
- ^ a b Lautarescu, Alexandra; Craig, Michael C.; Glover, Vivette (2020-01-01), Clow, Angela; Smyth, Nina (eds.), "Chapter Two - Prenatal stress: Effects on fetal and child brain development", International Review of Neurobiology, Stress and Brain Health: Across the Life Course, vol. 150, Academic Press, pp. 17–40, doi:10.1016/bs.irn.2019.11.002, retrieved 2023-02-13