Women who are stressed in pregnancy are more likely to have babies who suffer from asthma and allergies (according to a study from Harvard Medical School in Boston and presented earlier this year at the American Thoracic Society International Conference in Toronto).

Researchers found that unborn babies exposed to stress before birth have increased tendencies to react to allergy triggers such as dust mites. It is thought that the developing immune system of unborn babies can be changed by maternal stress, probably through stress hormones, like cortisol. The results of the study held true regardless of a mother’s race, class, education or smoking history. This research supports the notion that stress can be thought of as a kind of social pollutant that can influence the immune system.

Babies born to mothers who were anxious or stressed during their pregnancy are more at risk of developing asthma research from Bristol University has shown. Close to 6000 families were monitored for eight years and anxiety levels assessed with questionnaires completed at 18 and 32 weeks of pregnancy. The children were assessed for asthma at around age seven. Overall the risk of developing asthma was a staggering 65 per cent higher in women who were stressed compared to those who were not. It is thought that the immune system of developing babies could be influenced by maternal stress, probably through the stress hormone, cortisol.

And according to a study released from Kaohsiung Medical University in Taiwan perhaps the best way for mothers to distress and relax is to listen to classical music and the sounds of nature. The study showed that listening to music provided a simple, cost effective and non invasive way of reducing stress, anxiety and depression in pregnancy.

A lack of vitamin E during pregnancy may substantially increase the risk of childhood asthma. Scientists at Aberdeen University believe vitamin E and D could account for up to a third of new cases of asthma in recent decades. The increase in asthma, especially in children, has never been fully explained. However, there is growing evidence that maternal diet is implicated in the rise of asthma.  The research found a clear link between asthma and wheezing in children aged three and low intake of vitamin E by the mother during pregnancy.