Recent research has identified stress in pregnancy as a serious problem that can have serious consequences for the baby. According to the results obtained by scientists, if not controlled in time, can affect the social and behavioral development of the newborn, as well as memory, learning and motor coordination.
Therefore, it is essential that mental health professionals update their knowledge through continuing training in Psychology, with the aim of incorporating the new findings of scientific evidence into their clinical practice.
The research team became interested in this object of study by detecting that a high percentage of women with a fetal diagnosis of congenital heart disease (CHD) also manifested stress, anxiety and depression.
According to Catherine Limperopoulos, lead author of this study of the Children's National Hospital, Equally worrisome is the high percentage of pregnant women who manifest psychological distress in general. And he adds "for us it is even more important to identify these women early in order to intervene".
After the study was completed, the Limperopoulos team found that stress during the second trimester was associated with a smaller cerebellum and left hippocampus. Similarly, other specific regions, such as the left cerebellar lobe, were more likely to cause growth retardation..
The hippocampus is a key brain structure for learning and memory, while the cerebellum is responsible for controlling motor coordination, playing a fundamental role in social and behavioral development.
Likewise, the hippocampus is characterized by growing faster than any other brain structure, being also especially sensitive to stress, so, the diagnosis of CHD in the fetus can seriously affect the development of the baby.
The research analyzed data from a total of 140 women, of whom 48 had received a diagnosis of CHD in their baby during pregnancy and 92 whose gestation had developed without complications. Through this sample they observed that:
The experts obtained these data through 223 fetal MRI sessions between weeks 21 and 40. Likewise, they also measured brain volume in cubic centimeters and performed volumetric measurements for key regions such as the cerebellum, brainstem, and brain. left and right hippocampus.
On the other hand, none of the 140 women in this study had undergone prenatal stress or anxiety screening. Likewise, they were neither in treatment nor had they received mental health interventions.
The reason for this lack of assistance was not financial resources, according to the data that the researchers had managed to gather, so Limperopoulos states that it is essential to carry out these types of tests on a routine basis, as well as giving access to interventions with the aim of reducing these stress levels during pregnancy.
These unprecedented findings underscore the need for stress testing in prenatal care. In addition, as confirmed by the researchers of this study, the next goal is to explore effective prenatal cognitive-behavioral interventions to reduce the psychological distress experienced by pregnant women, thus improving neurological development in babies with CHD
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