Don't mix stress with pregnancy

A mother’s emotional health can affect her baby for years to come, according to recent research, so stress should be avoided along with cigarettes and alcohol. But future mothers need help. “Everyone ought to be cherishing pregnant women more,” says Prof Vivette Glover, an expert on prenatal studies at Imperial College London. Her research has linked emotional stress during pregnancy to behavioral and developmental problems in children. She emphasizes that fathers have a significant role to play in reducing stress in mothers-to-be, as do family and friends. Irish Times