14 DAY TRIAL // A group of scientists based at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) determined in a new study that mothers who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder while pregnant give birth to children that are more predisposed to developing PTSD.
This discovery hints at the existence of previously-unknown series of effects on maternal brain chemistry. These changes are apparently strong enough to cause predispositions towards PTSD in fetuses as well, PsychCentral reports.
In the new study, the team found that children born from mothers who have PTSD are more likely to exhibit psychosomatic complaints, including constipation, diarrhea and headaches. The work is detailed in the latest issue of the Journal of Depression & Anxiety. It suggests that more efforts are needed to reduce stress in would-be parents.
“Parents are often the key to understanding children’s responses generally and specifically in times of stress. The study also highlights the close interrelations between ‘body and soul’ among children and adults,” scientists with the BGU say in a statement. Though PTSD is usually known to affect men, the disorder has an incidence of 8.4 percent in the female population as well.