Ep. 54: How can we assess the effects of prenatal stress on child outcomes?

I'll be honest that I don't know of a single pregnancy that didn't involve some level of stress. I think the entire act of carrying a baby and everything that goes along with it is stressful in its own right. But sometimes there are stressors that are even greater. Sometimes it's chronic stress from work or life events, or sometimes it's greater stress from natural disasters or even war. Many of us have heard about how bad prenatal stress is for babies, but how much is too much? What are these effects and how are we able to quantify what is happening for babies in the womb? Joining me this week is Dr. Jerold Meyer who has revolutionized the way in which we assess and think about prenatal stress and the effects on our children. He brings the nuance that is needed to this discussion and can help us see where we may need to be looking in the future. Dr. Jerold Meyer: https://www.umass.edu/cns/directory/jerrold-s-meyer Relevant Articles: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/dev.22021 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0306453011001727 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0306453017315469 https://academic.oup.com/endo/article/153/9/4120/2423884?login=true https://scholarworks.umass.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1115&context=rudd_conf