A recent study issued in the August print issue of the American Journal of Public Health has shown that stress amongst soon-to-be mom's can have an effect on the developing fetus. Mothers who work long, stressful hours at work before going on maternity leave increase the risk of their baby having a low birth weight.The survey was completed by 8,266 pregnant women concerning their stress levels, and working conditions. It was found that women who work 32 hours a week or more and have high stress levels while in their first trimester have the greatest risk of birth-weight reduction and delivering a small-for-gestational-age baby, or having developmental and behavioral problems with their baby.
The researchers of this study wrote that "Although pregnant women typically reduce their working hours or workloads at the end of the pregnancy, our results suggest that reducing job strain and working hours in the initial stages of pregnancy may be beneficial among women with stressful full-time jobs,". In addition, anxiety and depression can also have this affect on newborns.
So if you are a pregnant working woman relax and take some time off whenever you begin to feel overwhelmed in the workplace. Try attending some prenatal yoga classes to help you relax, or take a warm bubble bath to wash the stress away.