Most of us know what you eat and drink while pregnant effects your baby, but what about how you feel?
Research from the Association for Psychological Science found a 6-month old embryo is effected by your emotions. And it isn’t just temporary. Your emotional health can start to form the fetus’ attitudes about life.
So how does your crying effect your baby? Some of these categories can give you a good indication on how your emotions are changing your baby’s life – forever.
For stressed moms
Every mom deals with occasional stress, and that won’t have a lasting effect on your baby. However, long-term anxieties, stresses or depression will.
Mommies who are highly anxious during pregnancy have a higher chance of having anxious, colicky babies.
When you’re stressed, your body creates a stress hormone, and while your emotions can’t pass into the placenta, your hormones can. If your baby gets the stress hormone often, he or she gets used to being chronically stressed.
For depressed moms
Being depressed while you’re pregnant is just as common as postpartum depression, according to health line. It’s pretty common too – 10 percent of pregnant moms are depressed.
Babies born to depressed moms are 1.5 times more likely to have depression at 18-years-old and have more emotional problems like aggression.
Your depression can also actually affect how well your baby develops as well, but it’s related more on the consistency of your depression rather than the depression itself.
According to the study, if the mom was depressed while pregnant and remained depressed after pregnancy, the baby developed normally. And if the mom was mentally healthy while pregnant and remained mentally healthy after birth, the baby still developed normally. But if one of those things changed, like the mom was healthy during pregnancy, but become depressed after birth, that slowed the development process.
For moms who resent being pregnant
Resentment at this small human growing inside you will only make matters worse. Studies show moms who felt no attachment to their baby while in the womb had children with emotional problems.
For moms who have occasional sad days
We all have them. Don’t let this worry you. Occasional stress or bad days won’t have any lasting effects on your baby.
What to do
Get the help you need to be happy! Obviously, you can’t get rid of all your stress, but learn the symptoms of depression and talk to your doctor about pregnancy-safe antidepressants. (They exist!)
And if nothing else, take a long bath, breathe deep, learn yoga or enjoy a day of pampering yourself. After all, you are growing a human!