Everyone has heard about the perils of the high-fat, high starch, low-fiber diet common throughout the affluent, industrialized world. So shouldn’t we steer our families toward a more “natural” diet? Eat the way we were meant to eat. Eat like our hunter-gatherer ancestors and enjoy better health. It’s not a bad plan. If you consider … Continue reading
© 2009 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved Numerous studies report a link between daycare centers and stress. The more time young children spend in childcare facilities, the more likely they are to develop abnormal stress hormone profiles. What’s normal? Typically, the body produces high levels of the stress hormone cortisol in the early morning. … Continue reading
These references accompany the article, “Pregnancy stress hormones: How a natural rise in hormone levels may benefit babies and re-program mothers’ brains” Atkinson HC and Waddell BJ. 1995. The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis in rat pregnancy and lactation: circadian variation and interrelationship of plasma adrenocorticotropin and corticosterone. Endocrinology 136(2):512-20. Bardi M, French JA, Ramirez M, and Brent … Continue reading
Natural changes in stress hormones during pregnancy Prolonged, severe stress is bad for pregnancy. And stress hormones are to blame. When stress hormone levels run very high, women are less likely to conceive and more likely to miscarry (Sapolsky 2004; Nepomaschy et al 2006). Babies are more likely to be born prematurely and underweight. They … Continue reading