Screw you stress

“What is now clear is that high levels of stress in pregnancy can, in some cases, be detrimental to the health of the baby and to remain as stress-free as possible is certainly important. It is vital that pregnant women are given adequate support and reassurance from their family, friends and employers, to ensure they have a happy and healthy pregnancy.

A recent survey of 1,000 mothers-to-be conducted by Tommy’s found that pregnant women regularly felt stress at work. One in ten said that their employer was unsupportive when they announced their pregnancy and a quarter felt under pressure from employers who expected them to work just as they did before they became pregnant.

The research measured the stress hormone cortisol in the mother’s blood and in the amniotic fluid around the baby.

As the mother’s stress rose, so did that of the baby, according to Professor Vivette Glover at Imperial College London and consultant obstetrician Pampa Sarkar, of Wexham Park Hospital in Berkshire.

“We do not wish to unduly worry pregnant women. It should be remembered that one of the best ways for people to avoid general stress is to lead a healthy, balanced lifestyle,” Dr Sarker said.

“We are all a product of our developmental history. One of the times when we are most susceptible to the influences of our surrounding environment is when we are developing as a foetus in our mother’s womb. We found that the strength of this correlation became stronger with increasing gestational age. We now need to carry out further work to unravel the mechanisms by which maternal stress affects the foetus, both during foetal life and through into childhood.”

The theory behind the effect is that foetal programming is supposed to prepare babies for the life they will experience outside the womb. If the mother faced serious dangers, the baby had to be programmed to be born into a dangerous world. But these hangovers from the evolutionary past are no longer relevant, Professor Glover said.

The research is published in the May edition of Clinical Endocrinology. Professor Glover has previously shown a link between stress in pregnancy and the baby’s IQ. The greater the stress felt by the mother, measured by cortisol levels, the lower the IQ. The babies of stressed mothers were also more likely to be anxious and to show signs of attention-deficit disorder. ”

I read everything I can lately about pregnancy, for obvious reasons. For one, I feel like we’re no where near ready to be parents… and for two- I haven’t got a clue how to be one. I’ve been reading that at 17 weeks it’s important if not vital to the baby to actually begin to destress, which actually… freaks me out since I have no idea how to not stress. The only times in my life that I haven’t had some worry on my mind, was when I was either drunk, sitting on the beach or lounging next to the pool. Anytime I’m in the sun and near water, those levels of stress vanish like magic… or I guess when I’m engrossed in a good book, which would explain why I crave books like I crave oxygen. Anyway, now… I’ve got to learn to let go of something that I’ve held so close for a lifetime. How. How does one not worry. I envy people who live in the now, since for me my mind always works lightyears ahead. Plus, emotions effect me like crack to a junkie. It’s ridiculous. Every emotion. It’s kind of a blessing and a curse, since when I feel joy- it envelops me like a blanket.. every sense is alive with that feeling.. but when that feeling is sad or blue… it’s as if someone came along and killed multiple puppies in front of me, then told me I was to blame for such atrocities. Even before I was pregnant, silly movies made me feel a type of laughter that generates from deep within and lasts through out the day… while scary movies will undoubtly bring nightmares. So you can see, that worry…. keeps me up at night, it darkens an otherwise bright day and can make life feel lonelier and harder then it should be. I think in someways it’s a gift, since in writing- I’m’ able to fully capture the emotion in words and project it onto the reader, but in life… it’s a bitch. SO my question is… well.. it isn’t really its a question.. its just something I have to do.. for the sake of our kid. Side note, let me tell you how intense it is to know that you are fully responsible for some tiny little innocent beings entire well being. I mean, I’ve made some rotten choices in my life, and I’m the only one who’s ever had pay the consequences… and I’ve taken my medicine with all the grace and class I could muster- then have moved on from said situation and taken with me the valuable lesson. Hopefully wise enough to not repeat previous-shit-choice. What.. wait.. off topic any way- my point was, that through all of that.. no one else ever suffered due to me. Now.. an entire life hangs in my decision making skills. I mean, that’s huge. It isn’t just a persons life, it’s there entire chemical make up. The things I do now can effect the brain, the body the ability to think, eat, drink, sleep, learn.. grow. Anyway, so this stress thing…. is intense. Now you can see why. I started trying to de-stress last Friday… when i realized just how much it effects the baby… but it isn’t easy when work pisses me off and I want to throw rocks at stupid people. I have had to start thinking that making the sale… isn’t everything. If I don’t make quota, I will continue to live. As long as I’ve truly worked hard, then that’s all I can do. I can’t force others to make choices any quicker then they currently are. As long as our bills are paid, there’s money coming in on some level, and a peaceful, loving home life.. then I can’t ask for anything more. Our health, our happiness and our lives together, take total priority right now. Jobs will always be stressful, money will come in various sums…. but I can’t go back and fix the kids brain. So that just means, I have to fix mine and work on letting things go. Ok… enough with the revelations… I finally got into the baby spirit last week, and started our baby registry and let me just tell you, there is some retarded stuff out there. The Baby Suana & Spa… the warmer for baby wipes.. puhleese. You know, after doing some of the registry, I realized that it wasn’t having a baby that freaked me out, it was the fact that they come with so many accessories. Jeezus. I like to travel light as possible, I hate having tons of stuff with me, so when I started looking at strollers yesterday…I couldn’t contain my dismay at how complicated and bulky they all were. haha… Ok, well I’ve got to run. I was going to post pictures, but my ADD has kicked in and I’d rather do something else.