For Your Baby

Depression and stress in the pregnant person has been associated with negative impacts on the embryo. Long-term results range from greater fear reactivity as infants to a higher chance to developing depression and anxiety disorders as adults. This makes sense: being exposed to higher levels of stress hormones in utero makes the offspring develop to survive in a stressful environment outside the womb. This means that the child will be born with more cortisol in his or her system and less receptors to process it and return the body to a neutral, relaxed state of being.

Not all stress during pregnancy is negative: in fact, some cortisol exposure is necessary for the formation of the lungs and central nervous system. This is a good thing, as parts of the transition into parenthood are intrinsically stressful! However, long-lasting anxiety is to be avoided, for the sake of the parents and the child. Pharmaceutical antianxiety and anti-depression medications have not been sufficiently tested to be safe for pregnancy. Meditation is a method that is consistently shown to help people cope with stressful situations and receive biological benefits therein… and it doesn’t have any bad side effects!

A study in 2015 studied the impact of prenatal meditation on the offspring, and found that infants whose mothers meditated had healthier stress hormone levels at birth, five weeks of age, and five months of age, and they consistently scored higher on behavioral assessments. If prenatal stress exposure impacts the development of the fetus negatively, the positive effects of meditation may be passed on in the same way. Babies who are exposed to elevated levels of DHEA, melatonin, oxytocin, and other beneficial hormones may be born more predisposed to the compassion, empathy, and feelings of connectedness and empowerment experienced by many meditators.

Physiological benefits aside, children whose parents model healthy coping strategies, self-care practices, and interpersonal connectedness will be more likely to embody these attributes as they grow. The offspring of meditators may be more likely to live healthy, happy, productive lives.