Protecting your unborn baby from the toxic effects of stress

 Studies show that 64% of you think your lives are more stressful now than they were a year ago.

 Most people are concerned about the poor economy, job security, debt and the ever-present threat of war. For expectant mothers, the worries of pregnancy and pending motherhood are a huge added stress. Plus when you add in the raging pregnancy hormones, it makes it all a roller coaster of emotions.  It is this stress that contributes to the emotional insecurities and sensitivities of a newborn.  Research has shown that from as early as conception, the emotional and physiological development of a child is being affected by the emotions of the mother and father.

 These levels of high, chronic stress are putting your unborn children at risk. Pregnancy is the most important period in human life, because it is the time when all physiological, emotional and biological health is being developed.

Why are toxic emotions so harmful to the emotional and physiological development of your unborn baby?

 ”We are all a product of our developmental history,” said Dr. Pampa Sarkar of Wexham Park Hospital in Berkshire, England. “One of the times when we are most susceptible to the influences of our surrounding environment is when we are developing as a foetus in our mother’s womb.”

Research has shown that mothers who experience severe stress, particularly early in pregnancy, are more likely to have premature or low-birth-weight babies. Other studies have linked high levels of stress during pregnancy to children with birth defects, lower IQ, ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), allergies, asthma and even autism.

More and more scientific reports are coming out showing that children’s emotional (and sometimes physical) behaviour is connected to the levels of emotional and environmental stress their mothers experienced when they were in the womb. For example:

Children with mothers who are highly stressed and/or anxious during pregnancy have double the risk of being diagnosed with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) by the age of four.

• Children with the highest levels of behavioural problems are more likely to have a mother who was under stress during pregnancy.
• Babies exposed to the highest levels of cortisol (a stress hormone) in the womb have lower IQs at 18 months than infants of less-stressed mothers.
• High levels of stress increase the risk of having a baby with sleep or digestive problems.

 So managing your stress levels whilst pregnant is key for delivering a healthy, happy baby.

The emotions experienced by the mother from the time of conception will impact a child’s emotional and physiological development later in life.  At the time of conception, the egg from the mother and the sperm from the father transfer genetic material including information about physical characteristics, behaviour and emotional expression.  Information on emotions is stored in our cells via this DNA.  This transfer of information enables the subconscious of the mother to begin preparing for the care and nurturing of the foetus as it develops. 

 Janet DiPietro, a developmental psychologist at Johns Hopkins University, agrees: “Who you are and what you’re like when you’re pregnant will affect who that baby is. Women’s psychological functioning during pregnancy – their anxiety level, stress, personality – ultimately affects the temperament of their babies. It has to … the baby is awash in all the chemicals produced by the mom.”

These chemicals also have a physical effect. According to cell biologist, neuroscientist and Stanford researcher, Bruce Lipton, Ph.D., “When passing through the placenta, the hormones of a mother experiencing chronic stress will profoundly alter the distribution of blood flow to her foetus and change the character of her developing child’s physiology.”

The subconscious of the mother will communicate to her brain that her stress and negative emotions are having a harmful effect on her developing child.  If she chooses to ignore her intuition and continue on living with high stress, it is possible that her subconscious will take over and create a situation where the mother has no choice but to slow down – maybe she will develop a condition where bed rest is required.  In extreme cases, the body takes over to protect the foetus from stress.  In all cases, it is very important for a mother to keep the stress levels and negative emotions in check as much as possible.

 Why do stress hormones have such a negative affect?

Once an egg has been fertilized and embedded into the womb, the subconscious of the mother establishes communication with the embryo and develops the heartbeat of the unborn baby. After the subconscious has maintained the embryo’s heartbeat for 5 weeks, the subconscious creates another program that transfers all of the mother’s biological information to the foetus. This information enables the mother to transfer all of the necessary nutrients, emotions and vital cellular communication from her environment to her baby.

After this biological change has occurred, the unborn baby’s senses are in constant communication with the mother’s brain. This process was designed to enable the mother and the baby to bond emotionally during pregnancy; however, it also provides an unrestricted route for the transfer of negative emotions and stress.

A mother and unborn baby communicate biological and emotional information to each other via hormones carried through the blood. Therefore, when an expectant mother experiences stress or negative emotions such as anger, anxiety, fear, resentment, sadness, hate, worry, jealousy or irritability, her brain releases powerful hormones that are automatically transferred to her baby because her subconscious has no way of filtering these toxic emotions and chemicals.

This means that the subconscious has to create new biological programs that will allow the developing brain of the unborn baby to store unhealthy emotional communication from the mother. 

When an expectant mother continues to experience toxic emotions or stress over a period of 8 weeks, the mother’s subconscious changes the way her baby stores emotional information from the brain to the heart. This default mechanism helps protect the baby’s developing brain from being over-stressed and neurologically damaged.

Although this alteration in emotional and environmental communication might sound like a great solution for the baby’s emotional wellbeing, it is far from ideal. Once a baby develops the heart memory of its mother’s negative emotions, the infant will start to experience and express them once it is born – but not in the same way that an older child would. Instead, the infant seems to cry constantly without reason.

The subconscious of the mother imparts emotions, feelings and stresses that create the blueprint for the emotional life of the unborn child.  This blueprint gives the child the tools it needs to survive.  A child that was given a positive blueprint by its mother during development will be able to survive more stressful conditions growing up and as an adult.  Many wonder how some people are able to cope under extreme circumstances while others crack at the slightest stress.  It all comes down to the way the mother created the subconscious blueprint for the child.  It is all based on the environmental, physiological, emotional and perceptual conditions present during pregnancy.  The bonding that mother and baby experience at the moment of birth is far deeper and richer than just love.  It is a deep spiritual connection.

Just before a baby is born, the subconscious of the mother creates a biological communication to the subconscious of the baby.  This emotional connection should be one of love and positive emotions, but instead it is often stress and negativity.  If the birth becomes a stressful situation, the baby’s subconscious will automatically trigger the communication that was created to the mother’s subconscious.  This communication normally provides the baby a memory of the love from its mother but a link of negativity will just distress the baby during the difficult birthing process.  Once the birthing is over, emotions felt during the birth continue to be felt by the baby’s brain and skin.  When the emotions that are received from the mother are of stress and negativity, the baby does not have the love connection to remember during and after birth.  Without that, it’s possible that the baby will not feel safe, loved or cared for.

For several months after birth, the infant’s subconscious can create new programs to suppress these emotional effects to its nervous system. These suppressed emotions can resurface later in life and often do. Studies show that those who experience high levels of stress in the womb are more irritable and depressed as children.

When the baby is physically ready to survive outside the mother’s womb, the emotional connection continues through the cell intelligence between mother and baby’s skin.  The skin is biologically programmed by the babies subconscious to be the primary point of emotional communication between mother and child.  It is this connection that triggers the brain to respond in such an emotional manner when the baby is born.  This connection is very strong; therefore any stress felt by the mother will be passed onto the child.

The 10 weeks following birth are also an important time in the emotional development of a child.  Stress during this time accounts for up to 50% of the emotional dysfunction that is seen in children today.  The effects can be seen for many years to come. 

 Are you currently under stress?

 We are so used to living stressful lives that sometimes we do not even realize the pressure we are putting on our bodies (and those of our unborn children). To find out, answer the following questions. 

1. Do you feel tense?
2. Do you feel nervous?                                               
3. Do you feel worried?
4. Do you feel frightened?
5. Do you think things are not going well in your life/pregnancy?
6. Do you believe that you have no control over things in your life?
7. Do you worry that your baby will have abnormalities or other issues?
8. Are you concerned about losing your baby?
9.  Are you worried about childbirth?
10.  Do you worry about whether you will be able to pay your bills?
11.  Do you have an extra-heavy workload?
12.  Are you having problems at work?
13.  Are you and your partner/spouse having difficulties?
14.  Have you been threatened with physical violence?

If you answered “sometimes” or “yes” to three or more of these questions, you have potentially dangerous levels of stress in your life. But don’t let this knowledge worry you even more. There is a simple way to help you feel more relaxed, content and emotionally balanced during your pregnancy – Transformational Wellness™.

Taking into consideration the environmental stresses and emotions that expectant mothers are under, the Transformational Wellness™ Stress-Free Pregnancy Program was developed to allow your unborn baby to experience life in the womb stress-free.

How can I create a stress-free environment for my unborn baby?

To grow, nurture and emotionally develop your unborn child, during pregnancy you must be able to cope with the demands of your family and work life, as well as the added pressures associated with living in the 21^st century.

Transformational Wellness™ Stress-Free Pregnancy Program uses an innovative method to help you feel relaxed, de-stressed, happy and emotionally balanced throughout your pregnancy.

You can begin the program as early as your 12th week of pregnancy and continue to have treatments twice a month until the arrival of your new baby (usually 10 sessions total). The Transformational Wellness™ Stress-Free Pregnancy Program also includes a special session that will emotionally help you through the birthing process.  This session creates a platform for the mother’s subconscious to suppress the distressing emotions of child birth.

Your investment in the Transformational Wellness™ Stress-Free Pregnancy Program is $1295.00 and comes with a 6-month payment plan.

 Protect your baby! Call now to book your first session at the Perth or Melbourne, Australia office:

 1 300 884 348