How Stress Effects Your Child

Stress, we all have it. Having a child can heighten that stress. There are a lot of changes coming, big changes (Not to mention the hormonal ones)! Stress can be dangerous. Not only for you but for the baby too. We have all read books or heard our doctors tell us to try to stay calm during pregnancy, that stressing was a 'no-no'. Sometimes you can not help it, I know I couldn't.  Then I would worry what that would do to my baby, it was a never ending cycle of stress. Do not fear though! New studies show that there may be ways to help counteract what stress during pregnancies can cause.

Past research found that stress and depression during pregnancy can change an infant's response, specifically to stress. This would make the baby more anxious, fearing the unfamiliar and become easily frustrated and upset. New preliminary studies have found that when a mother cuddles and gently strokes her infant in the first month, the infant is less likely to be apprehensive and distressed in stressful situations.

Now, this does not only apply during pregnancy. Once your precious baby is here, they can pick up on parents being distressed. They may not understand what you are saying but they can pick up on the cues from your emotions and moods. Stressed parent = stressed baby.

Too much stress and emotional strain can cause long term problems. The CDC reports that stress, over a long period of time,  can alter how a brain develops. It can cause kids to have a low stress threshold, impair their connection to the brain circuits, can damage areas of the brain that are crucial for memory and learning, and the stress hormones can also hinder the immune system. Along with this it can also lead to emotional issues such as children feeling isolated and afraid.


Kids are a reflection of ourselves. How they see you deal with stress is how they will learn to deal with it. Try tricks like deep breathing, counting, or exercise. Parents who use effective practices of their own will be a model of how to cope in a healthy way for their children. Skills they will carry with them their entire lives.