Babies born to mothers who are depressed for the duration of pregnancy have higher levels of stress hormones, reduce muscle tone and other neurological and behavioral differences, a new study finds.
Umbilical cord blood samples were taken at birth to evaluate stress hormone levels. At two weeks, the infants underwent neurobehavioral tests to assess their motor skills and responses to stimuli and stress.
Up to one in five women experiences depression for the duration of pregnancy and post-partum depression is also a common complication, according to the background material in the study. The researchers urged that pregnant women showing symptoms of depression contact a therapist.
Breast Cancer Patients Shouldn’t Avoid Chemotherapy in Pregnancy, Researchers Say
Pregnant women who have breast cancer shouldn’t delay chemotherapy or schedule an early delivery to avoid exposing the baby to the drugs, doctors say.
Premature babies face a higher risk of illness and death, says study head Sibylle Loibl, MD, of the German Breast Group. About 2% of all breast cancers are diagnosed during pregnancy, she tells WebMD. The findings were presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.
The study included 142 women and newborns exposed to chemotherapy. SOURCES: San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, San Antonio, Dec. 8-12, 2010.Sibylle Loibl, MD, German Breast Group.Steven J. Isakoff, MD, PhD, Gillette Center for Breast Cancer, Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, Boston.Edith A. Perez, MD, director, breast cancer program, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Fla.
Women who smoke heavily during pregnancy tend to have daughters who start menstruating months earlier than the daughters of women who didn’t smoke while pregnant, a new study finds.
Previous studies have found evidence that women who start menstruating early may be at higher risk of health problems later in life. One concern, Shrestha noted, is that the study relied on women to report how much they smoked and drank during pregnancy, and people often “underreport” any behavior they believe will be frowned upon.
The authors found no association between early menstruation and exposure to smoke during childhood, maternal smoking before pregnancy and maternal alcohol drinking during pregnancy, they report in the journal Human Reproduction.
“Of course, drinking in pregnancy is considered bad for many reasons.” She added that she wasn’t surprised to see no link between drinking in pregnancy and the age daughters began menstruating, since very few mothers in the study said they drank heavily while pregnant.