MAY 16, 2015 : JESUSEGUN ALAGBE 0 COMMENTS
In Lagos markets, motor parks, highways, banking halls, and other public places, heavily pregnant women are not a scarce ‘commodity’ to behold, many of them carrying all sorts of heavy loads on their heads, joining other people in the search for their daily meals. This scenario is also what obtains in many Nigerian towns and cities.
Well, for ages, while some people have maintained that geniuses are born and not made, others believe they are indeed made and not born. It’s been really tough to determine who is right and who is wrong. However, geniuses – the brilliant ones – could now be born more than ever before thanks to advances in scientific researches.
Before, it was said that if pregnant women ingested substances such as alcohol, cocaine, caffeine, and tobacco, they could harm their babies’ physical and mental health. In addition to all the age-long advice, there is a newly discovered additional way of determining how mentally equipped mothers want their children to be. And it’s quite easy to practise: stay off stress when pregnant. It is learned that if a mother experiences excessive stress or suffers from an emotional trauma, her baby may be born with certain deficiencies which may persist into adulthood and cause mental and physical abnormalities.
In the findings of London researchers, Professor Vivette Glover and Pampa Sarkar, published in the Clinical Endocrinology journal, it was found that stress experienced by a woman during pregnancy may affect her unborn baby as early as 17 weeks after conception, with potentially harmful effects on brain and development. The study was labelled as the first to show that unborn babies are exposed to their mother’s stress hormones at such an early stage in pregnancy.
In their study, the researchers measured levels of the stress hormone, cortisol, in 267 pregnant women. They maintained that cortisol, which is pumped into the blood when human beings become anxious, is good in the short term as it helps the body to deal with a stressful situation, but long-term stress can cause tiredness, depression and make an individual more prone to illness.
The scientists took blood samples from the mother and amniotic fluid from around the foetus in the womb and found that at a gestational age of 17 weeks or greater, higher cortisol levels in the mother’s blood were reflected in higher levels in the amniotic fluid. Amniotic fluid is mainly produced by the foetus and is a good indicator of its exposure to a range of substances, including hormones.
Sarkar said further research was needed into how high levels of stress in a mother affect the unborn baby.
She 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. Our research shows that the foetus is exposed to cortisol in the maternal blood, and we also demonstrated that at and above 17 weeks, the cortisol in amniotic fluid had a strong positive relationship with cortisol in maternal blood.
“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 findings came after separate research on animals showed that high levels of stress in a mother during pregnancy could affect brain function and behaviour in her offspring, and other evidence suggesting that maternal stress in humans can affect the developing child, including lowering its Intelligent Quotient. However, the way this happens and the implications for the unborn child, both before and after birth, are still not fully understood and further research is needed, the authors said.
Glover and Sarkar added that they did not wish to “unduly worry pregnant women,” but were only highlighting the need to lead a “healthy, balanced lifestyle” to avoid general stress.
Reacting to the study, a London-based midwife, Claire Friars, said that the study was important as it would help enlighten many women who are careless in the manner they comport themselves during pregnancy.
She said, “A crucial next step would be to uncover to what extent different levels of maternal stress can potentially affect an unborn child. For now, one thing is clear: high levels of stress in pregnancy can in some cases be detrimental to the health of the baby. To remain as stress-free as possible is certainly important during pregnancy. Of course, this is easier said than done as pregnancy itself can incite all sorts of feelings – from feeling overwhelmed, happy and nervous.
“Pregnancy can signify major emotional changes in mums-to-be, from mood swings to feeling incredibly anxious, which may well elevate women’s stress levels. 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.”
Before his latest research with Sarkar, Glover had measured the intelligence of more than 100 babies and toddlers whose mothers had suffered unusually high stress in pregnancy. It was discovered that their IQ was generally about 10 points below average, and that many had higher than average levels of anxiety and attention-deficit problems.
Considering the nature of the Nigerian environment where there is a higher level of poverty among families, a consultant psychologist who resides in Lagos, Mrs. Damilola Akande, told Saturday PUNCH stress could not be totally avoided.
She said, “You need to see heavily pregnant women in many Lagos markets selling stuffs, screaming on top of their voices to attract customers and exposing their unborn children to stress. There is a higher number of poor families in Nigeria and Africa as a whole and you can’t really blame them. Ours is unlike what is obtainable in developed countries where provisions are made for such women to avoid stress.
“Apart from that, most Nigerian husbands, especially the uneducated ones, don’t really bother about the welfare of pregnant women. They don’t care whether you are heavy or not. They wake up in the morning and still expect the wife to prepare food for them, wash their clothes, and do other house chores. In my counselling experience, many women don’t have caring husbands. Because most men are also poor and don’t care, the woman knows that if she doesn’t go out to the streets, there will be nothing for her to eat.”
Akande advised husbands of expectant mothers to relieve them of stress-related activities by all means.
Like Akande, a Lagos-based obstetrician, Mrs. Cynthia Nganga, advised pregnant women to slow down on their activities during the stage and focus more on the babies they are carrying than anything else.
She noted, “The pregnancy stage is the time to slow down a bit; it’s not that women should be idle at this stage, but they should wind down, take things easy. I know a number of men who take their wives out of the country just to relax during that period. But for those who cannot afford a vacation for their pregnant wives, they could also provide serene environments for them at home. It doesn’t matter where they go as long as they are not subjected to any stress.
“During this time, they could read books, meditate, relax often, do a little exercise, listen to music and sleep. In fact, when all these activities are taking place, the babies in the womb will be happy. Tell me why they will not be brilliant children in the future. Pregnancy stage is another time for husbands to prepare honeymoons for their wives.”
A women-focused London-based organisation, Baby Centre, also gave pregnant women some tips to follow during the stage. It said on its website that commuting is a major source of stress for pregnant women and it gets worse t he more heavily pregnant a woman is. “Ask your employer if you can avoid rush hours, perhaps starting and finishing earlier than usual. This can be done as part of the risk assessment that your employer has a legal duty to carry out and review throughout your pregnancy. Make sure you always sit down on public transport. If you are not offered a seat, ask for one,” it said.
Nganga also offered a similar suggestion. “Now is the time to start giving women the right voice in the country, both by the families and by the government. Also, if we want brilliant children that will develop this country in the future, now is the time to start taking action,” she said.
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