Millenials (born ~1980-1995) are the first generation to have a DECREASED LIFE EXPECTANCY despite the rise in health behaviours like yoga, green juices and detox diets - this is because of STRESS! And the thing about stress is, it’s kind of contagious … especially during pregnancy.
“When the mother is stressed, several biological changes occur, including elevation of stress hormones. The fetus builds itself permanently to deal with this kind of high-stress environment, and once it's born may be at greater risk for a whole bunch of stress-related pathologies." Dr Pathik Wadhwa
The Pandemic has added yet another level of stress for pregnant women. In a study conducted in Calgary, Canada they surveyed more than 8,000 pregnant people during the pandemic.
“Nearly half reported experiencing symptoms of anxiety, while one-third had symptoms of depression — a much higher percentage than in pre-pandemic years.”
But the big question on everyone's mind was ... CAN STRESS IN PREGNANCY HURT MY BABY? So researches set out to find an answer!
“Researchers used MRI imaging to scan the brains of 75 of the babies 3 months after birth and found that babies born to people who reported more prenatal distress — more anxiety or depression symptoms — showed different structural connections between their amygdala (a brain region involved in emotional processing), and their prefrontal cortex an area responsible for executive functioning skills.”
As neurofunctional chiropractors we know that stress in babies means that we see more babies with stressed out nervous systems which show up as things like:
colic
latching & breast feeding challenges
fussy baby syndrome
failure to thrive
The really crappy thing about this is that if these things aren’t corrected early, these babies can’t build strong gut or immune systems and grow into stressed out kids and teens with things like:
chronic ear infections
eczema
asthma
allergies
add/adhd
autism
digestive issues
anxiety/depression.
The traditional medial approach is to treat each of these things individually with medication or therapeutic intervention as they happen. But what if we can improve all of this BEFORE it snowballs? What if we took a preventative approach to support women and their babies throughout their pregnancy and after birth with a network of healthcare providers and root cause health approaches, like prenatal and pediatric chiropractic care, to measure, unwind and remove the stress and let the body work as nature intended it to!?
"I think our whole approach to comprehensive prenatal care today is sort of messed up -- a lot of the focus is on the wrong things," says Dr. Calvin Hobel. "We measure a woman's blood pressure, her uterine size, listen to the baby's heart tones, but no one asks how things are going with her life."
So, WHATS THE SOLUTION?
The amazing thing about Advanced Vitality’s unique neurofunctional approach to prenatal care, is that we use the most INNOVATIVE technology with our INSIGHT scans to measure and track your stress levels before, throughout and after your pregnancy!
The other cool thing about chiropractic care is that it can actually help you improve your neuro-functional stress response which will minimize the stress response in your baby too!
Doctors and researchers suggest that FIRST TRIMESTER stress and anxiety has the biggest effect on babies, so we recommend getting checked, scanned and started on a care plan BEFORE you plan on getting pregnant as your BEST bet for an optimal pregnancy. However, if you’re already pregnant … there’s no better time than right now!
How do I know if I’m too STRESSED?
Here are some questions to assess your level of stress during pregnancy, developed by Dr. Calvin Hobel, director of maternal-fetal medicine at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. For each question, answer "yes," "sometimes" or "no." If you answer "sometimes" or "yes" to three or more questions, says Dr. Hobel, you may have sufficient stress to warrant some form of counseling or intervention.
I feel tense.
I feel nervous.
I feel worried.
I feel frightened.
I have trouble dealing with problems.
Things are not going well.
I cannot control things in my life.
I am worried that my baby is abnormal.
I am concerned that I may lose my baby.
I am concerned that I will have a difficult delivery.
I am concerned that I will be unable to pay my bills.
I live apart from my partner or spouse.
I have extra-heavy homework.
I have problems at work.
Have you and your partner or spouse had any problems?
Have you been threatened with physical harm?
if you‘re concerned about your stress levels and how they may be impacting your baby, we invite you to connect with us ASAP to learn how prenatal and Pediatric chiropractic can support you and your family!
Give us a call, follow us on social media or send us an email, we’re here to help!