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 17 May 2008 13:00 BST

Health fears for 'stressed' mums-to-be

Thursday, 30 Aug 2007 06:51
Pregnant women said they worried about their figure changing

Health In Focus 

Nearly 90 per cent of mums-to-be feel stressed during their pregnancy, a new survey has revealed.

The figure raises concerns as significant levels of stress have been linked to negative health impacts on the unborn baby.

Philip Baker, Professor of Maternal and Foetal Health, said that research has suggested high levels of stress can limit the growth of the baby in the womb and increases the risk of pre-term labour.

Early labour is particularly linked to stress in early pregnancy and around the time of conception.

Johnson's Baby and the baby charity Tommy's found that a quarter of pregnant women said they were stressed because of the changes to their body while 17 per cent stated changes in their relationships as the cause of their worries.

Giving up smoking and eating a healthy diet also worried some of the 1,100 mums-to-be surveyed. Issues that pregnant women said they secretly worried about included that they may not love their baby, fears of developing postnatal depression and that they may never want to have sex again.

Commenting on the results, Andrew Shennan, professor of obstetrics for Tommy's, said: "Pregnant women who experience heightened levels of stress for a prolonged period are at greater risk of complications such as miscarriage and premature delivery.

"It is therefore imperative that pregnant women have access to as much information as they possibly can to take the steps necessary to reduce their stress levels. These can sometimes be as simple as talking through whatever issues are causing concern, or seeking out additional information on the subject."
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