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Pregnancy and stress

Pregnancy and stress

"Prenatal stress affects offspring in two different ways depending on the timing of the stressor during pregnancy."

Mother and offspring

Mother and offspring

Of the 21 mammal species studied, many were primates and rodents.

Credit: Kittisak Srithorn

Andreas Berghänel

Andreas Berghänel

Evolutionary anthropologist at The University of New Mexico found prenatal maternal stress early in gestation causes the fetus to be entirely reprogrammed to deal with a reduced life expectancy. The baby switches to an accelerated pace of life and grows and matures faster than normal.

UNM researcher finds stress during pregnancy affects the size of the baby

Growth outcome opposite due to adversity at the beginning and end of gestation period

November 28, 2017

Categories: Front Page College of Arts & Sciences Anthropology Research

Tags: Department of Anthropology Stress and pregnancy Andreas Berghänel research

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