By the psychological counsellor Shireen Zaqout<\/p>\n
Amid the pressures of the life we live, an important question comes to mind: how can a pregnant woman's psychological state affect her foetus?
\nIf you ask your doctor, they will most likely advise you to relax and to keep away from psychological stress as far as possible, but obstetricians and gynaecologists do not usually go into the psychological details. If you do not have some psychological knowledge from reading, or perhaps from watching television programmes, you will most likely be like many women who put concern for their psychological state at the bottom of their list of priorities.
\nMost pregnant women take more interest in the foetus's condition and in the preparations to receive the baby. They attend to the things they need to buy, such as the cot, the pram, clothes and so on. Amid these preparations, commitments and anxieties, the pregnant woman overlooks the importance of her mood and psychological state, which automatically affects the foetus.
\nResearch increasingly establishes that hereditary factors are not the only thing that determines a child's temperament, but that what matters more is the environment the mother provides for her foetus while it is still in her womb. In addition to a balanced diet containing all the nutrients and vitamins the mother and her foetus need, and in addition to the mother being careful to take exercise suitable for pregnancy such as walking or antenatal exercises, the pregnant woman also needs to attend to her psychological state. Exposure to a great deal of stress leads to the secretion of certain hormones that pass to the foetus through the placenta, and of course the last thing a mother wants is to expose her baby to anxiety and psychological stress.
\nMany things may cause anxiety and psychological stress, particularly given the fast pace of the life we now live. Stress may result from light and noise pollution, work, other children, or the illness or death of someone dear, but research indicates that exposure to occasional, widely spaced stress does not harm the foetus; what harms it is constant exposure to it.<\/p>\n
The effect of psychological stress on the foetus
\nIf a foetus in the womb is exposed to continual psychological stress, it will most likely be an irritable baby, hard to soothe, not easily settled to sleep, perhaps suffering from hyperactivity, and it may also suffer bouts of colic.
\nMuch research has shown that the bouts of colic a baby suffers are the result of its psychological state and its inability to regulate its crying. The baby has a heightened sensitivity towards the environment around it and reflects its reactions to that environment, or to any changes in it, through crying.
\nWhen a mother is exposed to psychological stress, anxiety or depression, the foetus's movement becomes more active and less settled, and the greater the stress the less settled the baby's movement becomes, because instead of enjoying calm and safe sleep it is disturbed by the hormones reaching it through the womb.
\nThe foetus responds to the mother's negative psychological state, which in turn affects its own psychological state negatively. A child's personality goes back to hereditary factors, but a large part of it goes back to the environment the mother provides for the foetus while it is still inside her womb.
\nOne study indicates that mothers whose lives are marked by competition and work, whose behaviour is marked by speed of performance and determination to overcome problems, often have children with the same psychological state, that is children who are sharp and alert and whose reactions to the environment they live in are strong, though this does not necessarily mean they cry a great deal and are hard to soothe.<\/p>\n
Some advice for the pregnant mother:<\/p>\n
Enjoy your pregnancy!
\nLife anywhere is a challenge, but despite the crowds of people, the traffic and the many tasks a mother carries out in limited time, you can still enjoy your pregnancy. Bear in mind the following advice:
\nYour anxiety about your pregnancy or your foetus will increase your stress, so ask your doctor about every question on your mind.
\nRead as much as you can, for reading will help you relax.
\nTake suitable exercise. Exercise will not only benefit your circulation and your muscles (particularly the pelvic area, which needs strengthening to make delivery easier), but will also help raise your spirits. Yoga is a pleasant form of exercise: it not only helps you relax but also eases back pain.
\nShare your feelings with your husband or those close to you, particularly feelings of anger or distress, for this moral support will help you psychologically.
\nKeep a diary, for this helps you write down the daily activities you carry out and unburden yourself of your feelings, particularly if you are the kind of person who finds it hard to open up to others.
\nIf those around you offer you help and want to give you a break, let them, for you deserve it.
\nThe most important thing is to be happy. The happier you are, the stronger your immune system will be, for you and your baby. Seize any chance of happiness and enjoy it.
\nDo not forget that you are an active factor in everything concerning your beautiful baby, who we hope will be a calm baby.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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