Female Foetus More Sensitive To Stress

By Cara

Friday, April 30, 2010, 13:11

The sex of the foetus determines the way it responds to stressors during pregnancy and its ability to survive pregnancy complications, says a research conducted by University of Adelaide.

Male and female babies during pregnancy show different growth and development patterns following stressors during pregnancy such as disease, cigarette use or psychological stress.

This research has also been conducted by Robinson Institute's Pregnancy and Development Group, based at the Lyell McEwin Hospital and led by Associate Professor Vicki Clifton.

"What we have found is that male and female babies will respond to stress during pregnancy by adjusting their growth patterns differently," said Associate Professor Clifton.

When the mother is stressed, the baby boys inside the womb pretends as if nothing is wrong and thus continues to grow. So, he can grow up to his maximum limit. The female foetus, in response to mum's stress, will reduce her growth rate a little bit. There will not be a remarkable change in the growth rate but, just a drop below average.

When the pregnant mother suffers from either the same complication or a new kind of discomfort, the female foetus continues to grow on the same rate but the male baby doesn't do so well. It is then when there are chances of greater risk of pre-term delivery. In extreme cases, the baby can also die in the uterus.

Associate Professor Clifton said this sex-specific growth response had been observed in pregnancies complicated by asthma, pre-eclampsia and smoking. However, it is also likely to occur in other stressful events during pregnancy such as psychological stress.