Pregnant Mothers Who Are Exposed To High Stress At Risk
New York (eCanadaNow) - Pregnant mothers who are exposed to high levels of stress are at increased risk of giving birth to babies who have allergies or develop Asthma later on in life.
According to the results of a study just released by Harvard Medical School, women who experience high levels of stress had more IgE antibody in their blood stream at birth than women who did not undergo high stress levels.
IgE is an antibody that is associated with asthma and different allergies.
“Mothers to be that had higher levels of stress seemed to be more likely to react to different allergens, even at lower levels,” said Dr. Rosalind Wright.
Dr. Wright is an assistant professor Harvard Medical School and at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.
Stress appears to make women more at risk to allergens because it may make their cells more accessible or permeable, so that even lower levels of different allergens can possibly trigger a reaction.
For women whom have immune systems affected by stress this condition could possibly be passed down to their newborn infants.
The new study findings were given on Sunday at the American Thoracic Society International 2008 conference, held in Toronto.
The study examined 315 expectant mothers and their children, and all of the mothers examined lived in an urban or city environment.
