Description
About one in five U.S. women experience maternal mental health conditions, and chronic stress during pregnancy can contribute to risk for both maternal and child health challenges. Researchers at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center found that chronic stress during pregnancy changed how the placenta, which delivers oxygen and nutrients to the fetus and removes waste and carbon dioxide, communicates with the fetus and may affect brain development.
“The findings are quite remarkable. We found that the placenta isn’t simply a passive organ. It’s an active communication system between the mother and fetus. Our research suggests that stress can shift that communication in ways that may matter for brain development,” says Tamar Gur, MD, PhD, endowed director of the Soter Women’s Health Research Program and a researcher with Ohio State’s Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health.
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Learn more at https://go.osu.edu/DRd7
More about Ohio State research on stress in pregnancy: https://go.osu.edu/DRd9