Posted by My OB said WHAT?!?.
May
26
Posted by My OB said WHAT?!?.
“There Are Women Having Babies In War-Torn Afghanistan.”
“There are women having babies in war-torn Afghanistan.” – OB to mother who asked if her stressed emotional state would affect the baby’s growth during pregnancy.
There are 26 comments to this post.
That does NOT mean that stress does not affect the baby though now does it! Really docs we are intelligent (most of us any way) and would like a respectful answer. I don’t allow my husband to talk to me that way why would I take it from someone who I am PAYING to care for me?
[Reply]
Dee the Doula had this to say,
May 26, 2012 @ 6:07 am (Quote)
Afghanistan? Afghanistan?! Afghanistan leads the world in maternal deaths and almost leads the world in neonatal deaths. Is that the new bar? The new standard of care?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infant_mortality
http://www.childinfo.org/maternal_mortality_countrydata.php
OP…SO sorry you did not get compassionate care and good information. Depression, anxiety, and generally raised Cortisol levels can absolutely affect our babies’ development.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0163638306000312
[Reply]
Knitted in the Womb Reply:
May 27th, 2012 at 7:10 am (Quote)
EXACTLY!
One might respond to the Dr. “well an aweful lot of women and babies DIE in Afghanistan, and maybe part of that is the stress they are under. I want to know what risks I’m facing.”
[Reply]
Amanda had this to say,
May 26, 2012 @ 6:24 am (Quote)
Oh, come ON. There are pregnancy books out there that say “stress during pregnancy is detrimental!!!” and then the doctor says THIS? Attention medical community: stop saying things to worry us and then writing us off when we get concerned!
[Reply]
Weep had this to say,
May 26, 2012 @ 6:31 am (Quote)
Yes and Afghanistan has one of the highest maternal and infant death rates in the world exactly why I was wondering….
[Reply]
Trbobitch Reply:
May 26th, 2012 at 7:15 am (Quote)
A large part of the reason is depleted uranium ammunition. That’s why there are also so many birth/genetic defects there (and for some soldiers coming home and having children 
…). Not to discredit that stress is bad for you, but they’ve got a lot more going on over there effecting reproduction than stress and fear of war.
[Reply]
I was told exactly this, except replace Afghanistan with WWII Europe, when I expressed similar concerns several years ago, during my first pregnancy (had a boatload of really major stressors happening all at once). At the time, I found it reassuring and repeated it often as a kind of mantra. Now I know much more about the effects of constant high-stress of fetal brain development, bonding, and so much more. And I absolutely cannot deny the very obvious, lasting effect all that stress had on that child. He (and my 2 nephews, who were also gestated and born under all that stress) is high-strung, insecure, hyper-alert, doesn’t connect normally or easily with others, and I could go on. He is now receiving special education services. Don’t get me wrong – he is wonderful and I love every bit of him to pieces. But if I could go back and change things, learn and practice some techniques (like hypnosis) to reduce my stress hormones and increase my ocytocin levels throughout that pregnancy, in order to make my son’s experience in this world a little less scary and more pleasant, of course I would do it in a heartbeat.
This kind of false reassurance is such a disservice to moms and babies in distress. Yes, we are resilient creatures and can survive all kinds of stuff. But that doesn’t mean it’s optimal. We KNOW it’s not! And there are things we can do about it, right now, with a little education and support. It’s not like these resources are hard to come by. But so often these types of concerns are just written off. Why?
[Reply]
Dawn Reply:
May 29th, 2012 at 8:21 am (Quote)
I wondered about all that myself. My firstborn was conceived shortly after my 1st husband died and his family was giving me all sorts of stress. I was accused of all sorts of things including killing my 1st husband, cheating on him (I never even looked at another man, including celebrities, while he was alive), stealing from the family, etc. It was so bad that I almost got DX’d with high blood pressure when I normally have extremely low blood pressure.
My son is also high-strung and has been DX’d with ADHD and ODD and has been difficult to deal with from birth. It gets written off as being how some kids are, but I often wonder if my emotional stress had something to do with it all.
[Reply]
And while that IS a stressful situation, it is one that I AM NOT IN currently.
Now answer my question. Unless you just don’t know.
By the way, my boss made my life hell for several months of my pregnancy. This led to a heart condition, multiple trips to the hospital, massive heart burn, tremors, and panic attacks.
None one which are great for pregnancy.
[Reply]
Umm, yes stress can definitely affect an unborn baby. I had three mc’s in a row and the only issue the doctors could find was the fact I was under a humongous amount of stress. Once I moved and was no longer having to deal with all that stress, I conceived again and am now 25 weeks pregnant.
[Reply]
1) babies born in war zones are quite a bit more likely to have low birth weights
2) babies born to the children born in war zones and so on for at least 3 generations tend to be smaller than average for their geographical area
3) stress is a known inducer of high blood pressure, which is a known problem in pregnancy and can cause low birth weight and underdevelopment of the brain and lungs
And that’s off the top of the head of a person who didn’t go to frickin’ medical school.
Women are made to birth and that includes during hurricanes, hanging from tree branches to escape flooding, during war and every other adverse condition known to man. Women have managed it for all of our history. That doesn’t mean that it doesn’t increase risks.
[Reply]
People run across major roadways and don’t get hit, also. Does that mean I should do it too?
Dear Doctor:
It’s okay to say ‘I don’t know and I’ll look it up.’ It’s also okay to say ‘Yes, it’s harmful, but there’s nothing I can do about it, and now I have to admit that.’”
Love,
Everyone
[Reply]
Nicole Reply:
May 26th, 2012 at 11:43 am (Quote)
We get angry at doctors for comparing having dental work without anesthesia to childbirth without anesthesia. So this analogy confuses the heck out of me. Running across a major highway and being stressed to the max during pregnancy are way more different than comparing the pain of a root canal without anesthesia to the pain of childbirth.
[Reply]
Jane Reply:
May 26th, 2012 at 12:31 pm (Quote)
My only thought was that just because some people are doing something and making it through doesn’t mean it’s a good or helpful thing. This woman wanted to know if high stress during pregnancy could harm the baby, and the doctor replied that women in Afghanistan were having babies.
If the woman had asked her doctor, “Do I need to wait for the WALK sign before crossing the street,” the doctor could have answered, “People run across highways and don’t die.” It doesn’t answer the question, just implies that because SOME people do it, it’s safe.
Similarly, my grandmother smoked and never got lung cancer: does that mean I should smoke? If I went to the doctor and said, “Is smoking dangerous to my health?” and s/he said, “My grandmother smoked and never got lung cancer,” that’s not an answer either. Actually, it’s a potentially harmful answer because it implies there’s no danger when in actuality there is some degree of risk.
[Reply]
Nicole Reply:
May 26th, 2012 at 12:51 pm (Quote)
I see. I misread, then, to me it seemed like a comparison lol.
[Reply]
Jane Reply:
May 26th, 2012 at 12:55 pm (Quote)
A direct and rather dumb comparison. 
I meant it to be as dumb as what the doctor was saying, yes. I just didn’t make the intentional dumbness as clear as I should have. Sorry!
[Reply]
Cara Reply:
May 26th, 2012 at 1:44 pm (Quote)
I think he’s also saying, “You think you are stressed, but you couldn’t possibly be stressed, there are a lot more women way more stressed than you are.” It’s like telling a patient, “You think that hurts? That doesn’t hurt! The woman downstairs just had her leg amputated while giving birth, now THAT’s REAL pain.” I’m not really sure what the purpose of this kind of comparison is, except to shame the mother.
[Reply]
My guess is some women in “war-torn Afghanistan” are also birthing without epidurals, longer than 24 hours after their waters have broken, without constant fetal monitoring, and with no pitocin. So those are all cool with you too, right?
[Reply]
This was my story. First of all, I want to thank each one of you for commenting and being SO supportive! This is my first pregnancy and early on I was going through some roller coaster days. As some of you have mentioned, no, we aren’t stupid, and yes, we know pregnancy can be a very emotional (blame the hormones? ) time and you are right, stress can affect the baby in so many ways, including developmentally! Maybe I was expecting a little bit of empathy during a time of need, but instead was a bit taken aback at the response. Since then I’m happy with the care I’ve received. I do have my worries (who doesn’t) but am so much more emotionally stable and almost 7.5 months in my journey. Can’t wait to meet my little girl
[Reply]
Add Your Comment.
Previous Post
« “Oh Good! That Removes One Of The Risks At Least.” Next Post
“We’re Swabbing His Mouth With It.” »
« “Oh Good! That Removes One Of The Risks At Least.” Next Post
“We’re Swabbing His Mouth With It.” »
The question wasn’t “are there pregnant women in more stressful situations than me?”.
Why can’t doctors just answer the questions they’re asked and not be jerks?!
[Reply]
Kathryn Reply:
May 26th, 2012 at 9:01 am Kathryn(Quote)
Precisely. It’s another instance of mother-shaming.
[Reply]