Stressed-out mums-to-be

According to a poll by Tommy's the baby charity, nine in ten mums-to-be feel stressed and one in five secretly fear they may not love their baby.

In a poll of nearly 1,100 pregnant women, relationships, sex and money come top of the list of worries, and nearly a third dread post-natal depression. Around a fifth of women fear they won't want sex again.

The survey, carried out with Johnson's Baby, found 88% of women felt stressed during their pregnancies.

Two thirds commented on their partner's failure to appreciate how tired they were and were fed up with being told it was "just their hormones" whenever they became upset.

Over a quarter of the women polled said that eating the right food caused them concern and a similiar number of women showed concerns over changes to their bodies. About nine per cent were worried that their role in society had altered, whilst worrying about the pressure to look good scored a low percentage concerning eight per cent of women.

Various "taboo" topics also stressed mums-to-be out as almost a third felt they could not discuss their concerns about post-natal depression, a fifth worried that they might not love their baby and one in 13 feared they might not even want it.

A number of studies have shown that suffering stress or depression aroundd the time of conception or during pregnancy, can affect the unborn child as early as 17 weeks into the pregnancy, and can also limit the growth of babies in the womb or cause premature labour.

Thanks to The Guardian 30/08/07

If you are feeling stressed during your pregnancy read out feature Pregnancy blues and depression and post-natal depression. Why not chat to other parents about how you feel in our Chat forum.

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