As sharply higher numbers of women work through pregnancy, many hear the same advice: Relax. Don’t stress out or you will harm your unborn baby.
不过，与老观点相反的是，研究显示，对大部分孕妇来说，普通的日常工作家庭压力不太可能造成新生儿体重偏低或其他问题。研究人员说，堵车、任务的最后期限和其他日常烦恼事不太可能对胎儿造成威胁，那些自我感觉应付自如的孕妇往往做得不错。
Contrary to old beliefs, however, research shows that ordinary day-to-day job and home stress isn’t likely to cause low birth weight or other problems for most women. Traffic delays, work deadlines and other everyday hassles aren’t likely to pose a threat to unborn babies, researchers say, and pregnant women who feel they are coping well tend to do just fine.
相反，新的研究揭示了某种压力与宝宝发育迟缓之间存在联系：对怀孕本身过度担心。
Instead, new studies are revealing a link between a certain kind of stress and some developmental delays in the baby: worrying excessively about the pregnancy itself.
根据加州大学尔湾分校研究人员最近在《儿童发展》(Child Development)上发表的研究报告，这种“怀孕特有焦虑”与宝宝12个月时认知发展得分偏低有关。这与其他研究的结论相符。患有这种焦虑的孕妇对胎儿发育、流产或分娩的潜在问题过于担心。
This ’pregnancy-specific anxiety’ was linked to lower cognitive-development scores in babies at 12 months of age, based on a study published recently in Child Development by researchers at the University of California, Irvine, echoing other research. Women who experience this kind of anxiety worry excessively about potential problems with fetal development, miscarriage or giving birth.
研究人员尚不清楚这一发现的基础是什么。女性对怀孕过于担心的原因可能是她们感觉到有什么东西确实出了问题，而这个问题可能造成胎儿发育迟缓。抑或，怀孕期间焦虑、消极的母亲可能会在产后提供较少的培养和刺激性关爱。
Researchers don’t yet understand the basis for this finding. Women may become excessively anxious about their pregnancies because they sense that something actually is amiss, which could account for the developmental delays. Or, a mother who is anxious and negative during pregnancy might tend to provide less nurturing and stimulating care after birth.
无论原因是什么，很多产科医生都开始敦促孕妇不要对压力过于担心，而是要从家人和朋友那里获得更多的支持。
Whatever the cause, many obstetricians are urging pregnant women to stop obsessing about stress, and seek out more support from family and friends.
Stephen Maturen for the Wall Street Journal 佩利(Felicia Perry，中)在“专注怀孕”项目的一个小组中参与讨论
一些产科医生把孕妇送到产前关爱小组，在那里她们能够用传统的方法放松压力：与其他孕妇交谈。在一项名为“专注怀孕”的项目中，约有十名处于类似孕周的健康孕妇获得了产前关爱。在与标准的一对一产前检查频率相同的定期两小时小组活动中，孕妇首先各自接受了血压、体重等健康指标的检查，然后集中在一起进行讨论。
Some obstetricians are sending expectant moms to prenatal-care groups where they can get stress relief the old-fashioned way: by talking to other pregnant women. In a program called Centering Pregnancy, about 10 expectant mothers who are all at the same stage of a healthy pregnancy receive prenatal care in a group. In periodic two-hour sessions scheduled with the same frequency as standard one-on-one prenatal checkups, the women first get private screenings for blood pressure, weight and other health indicators, then gather for discussion.
大部分孕妇面临中等强度的压力，不过也有少部分人有着长期未疏解的压力。面临极度贫困、种族歧视或严重家庭问题等更困难环境的孕妇，早产或胎儿出现发育问题的风险更高。此外，研究发现，在孕早期经历了自然灾害等创伤性事件的孕妇早产或新生儿体重偏低的风险也会加大。
While most pregnant women face moderate stress, a smaller slice have unrelenting, chronic strain. Women facing more difficult circumstances, such as extreme poverty, racism or serious family problems, have a higher risk of preterm birth or developmental problems. Also, research shows that going through a traumatic event, such as a natural disaster, during the first trimester also raises the risk of premature delivery or low birth weight.
在克服各种压力的过程中，家人和朋友能给予很大的帮助。社会支持逐渐开始成为抵抗怀孕压力的强大武器，比如关心的话语、善解人意的朋友、以及能够引发微笑和欢笑的环境。
In coping with all kinds of stress, family and friends can help a lot. Social support -- kind words, nurturing friends, and surroundings that prompt smiles and laughter -- is emerging as a powerful antidote to pregnancy stress.
在2008年瑞士的一项研究中，60名孕妇暴露于压力事件中，比如在摄影机或观众面前进行模拟工作面试或数学测验。研究发现，那些反映说自己的生活中有更多“日常乐事”的人(比如微笑、欢笑和受到表扬)对压力做出负面反应的可能更小。这项研究发现，积极的社会经历看来是一种缓冲。
A 2008 Swiss study that subjected 60 pregnant women to stressors, such as a simulated job interview and a math test before a camera and an audience, found those who reported more ’daily uplifts’ in their lives, such as smiling, laughing and receiving compliments, were less likely to react negatively to stress. Positive social experiences seem to act as a buffer, the study found.
研究人员越来越相信，孕妇对压力的反应是影响压力结果的一个主要因素。密歇根州立大学的研究人员进行的一项研究发现，敌对态度与早产风险增加之间有联系。敌对态度指的是，孕妇经常容易感觉愤怒、多疑、愤世嫉俗、紧张或不安。
Researchers increasingly believe that how individual women react to stress is a major factor in its effects. A study led by researchers at Michigan State University has linked a hostile attitude in and of itself -- that is, the tendency in a pregnant woman to feel angry, suspicious, cynical, tense or nervous a lot of the time -- with an increased risk of preterm birth.
研究对2,018名女性进行了研究，结果发表在2008年的《社会科学与医学》(Social Science & Medicine)期刊上。研究中，女性的敌对倾向是用她们对一系列有关感觉和态度的问题的回答加以衡量的。
In the study of 2,018 women, published in 2008 in the journal Social Science & Medicine, women’s tendency toward hostility was measured by responses to a series of questions about their feelings and attitudes.
研究人员说，建立“压力复原能力”是生育健康宝宝的一个关键。“压力复原能力”指的是在严重压力期间，保持冷静和乐观、继续关爱自己的习惯。加州大学洛杉矶分校妇产科学副教授、作家Michael Lu鼓励女性在怀孕之前就开始建立对压力的复原能力──培养良好的运动、饮食和睡眠习惯，学会如何在不被压力压倒的情况下解决问题、面对挫折。
Researchers say building ’stress resiliency’ -- a habit of staying calm and optimistic, and continuing to care well for yourself through periods of heavy stress -- is a key to healthy birth outcomes. Michael Lu, an author and associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at University of California, Los Angeles, encourages women to start building resiliency against stress even before they become pregnant -- forming good exercise, nutrition and sleep habits, and learning how to solve problems and face adversity without stressing out.
他说，学会享受生活中的乐趣、心怀感激、从积极的角度看待负面事件，这些能够为快乐怀孕奠定基础。
Learning to savor life’s joys, be grateful, and look at seemingly negative events from a positive angle, he says, can set the stage for a pregnancy immune to the hazards of stress.
