Tips for Growing Your Baby's Brain
Developed by Kevin Karpowicz, M.D., Schenectady, New York
Tip #2: Pay Attention to Stress
If you are pregnant and your life is stressful, don't risk exposing your baby to too many stress hormones. Find someone to talk to. Learn who can help if you are facing a stressful situation, such as domestic violence.
- Our bodies deal with stress by making stress hormones. These prepare for “fight or flight” – they help us protect ourselves from danger.
- When babies & young children are exposed to stress hormones again and again, their brains can be permanently affected.
- This is also true for unborn babies. If the mother is very stressed, her stress hormones cross over to the baby and can affect the baby's brain. Infants who are fussy or “difficult” may have been affected by the mother's stress levels before birth. Stress hormones can actually destroy brain cells and brain connections.
- Children who have been over-exposed to stress at young age may develop:
- sleep problems
- anxiety
- aggressiveness
- learning problems
- behavior problems
- Adults can also experience many difficulties from exposure to stress, but in most cases, these are temporary.
- In children, these difficulties can be permanent, causing the child a lifetime of emotional and behavioral difficulties.
