Free access to Sage Journal articles ----- Original Message ----- From: beth benoit To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Sent: Wednesday, September 26, 2007 8:49 AM Subject: RE: [tips] Night Terrors and Pre-natal stress
I wouldn't be surprised if it did, but I doubt that there's much to be done. My husband and two of our daughters suffer from them. When the children were small, some nights it would sound like "Bedlam," with one or the other of the three of them screaming, jumping out of bed, frantically bumping into furniture and disoriented and confused. Trying to awaken them to reassure them was difficult. People who confuse them with nightmares are way off. This is serious stuff. The heartrate often goes up to 150+ and the pounding heart, agitation and confusion can last for 20 minutes. So, I'd think it can't be great for a fetus. But, strictly testimonial, both daughters now have children and they're fine, though of course there's probably no way you could determine night terrors as a cause for one quirk or another, as it may not be the stuff of research. I can't imagine funding would be easy, as they don't often occur every night (my husband has an average of two a month). I'd be very interested to hear if anyone is familiar with any research. Beth Benoit Granite State College Plymouth State University New Hampshire From: Quanty, Michael [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, September 25, 2007 11:29 PM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: [tips] Night Terrors and Pre-natal stress I have a pregnant student who is worried that she is having frequent bouts of night terror attacks that wake her in fright and asked if they could create a stress reaction that would cause chemical changes in her that could adversely affect her developing fetus. Is anyone aware of research relevant to her concern? Whether it is nigtmares,night terrors or whatever creates sympathetic arousal the effect on the fetus should be the same.Arousal is arousal and the source may not matter.There is evidence that the fetus heartbeat and rate can be synchronized with that of the mother.African-American pregnant moms partying and listening to rap music usually affects the rhythmicity of the fetus.(Hence the genetic-environmental factor of the soul-predominant in blacks.). The intensity of the mother's heartbeat may not matter because through opponent process the fetus threshold reaches a peak before that of the mother. Michael Sylvester,PhD Daytona Beach,Florida "when everybody thinks alike,nobody is thinking." ---
