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(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Could being too stressed out or anxious during pregnancy be harmful to a pregnant woman? That's a popular belief the results of a new study are calling into question.
Data from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston collected over the past 39 years from 50 different studies reveals no connection between anxiety and pregnancy complications, like having a longer labor, or a low birth weight baby.
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"Pregnancy can be an emotional time for women and, for some, anxiety associated with the pregnancy can be compounded by pre-existing difficulties such as having an inadequate social support system," writes lead author Heather Littleton, Ph.D.
Littleton says more research is needed to study the connection between anxiety and other complications, like developing pre-eclampsia.
This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, who offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, go to: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.
SOURCE: Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association in New Orleans, Aug. 10-13, 2006
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