Pregnancy tips Puberty Delayed In Offspring After Post-partum Anxiety

Not only might there be a "mind body connection", but apparently there might be a connection between your mind and your offspring's body. Here is an interesting study about the affects of anxiety in pregnancy and the post-partum period and how it may affect the child:

Postpartum Anxiety Delays Puberty In Offspring (www.sciencedaily.com)

From the article:

Women have an increased rate of anxiety during pregnancy and for 2 years after giving birth, said the study's lead author, Caroline Larsen, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand.

"Postpartum anxiety disorders are poorly understood and difficult to treat," Larsen said. "There is growing evidence that untreated anxiety disorder during pregnancy may contribute to premature birth and also can have major and lasting adverse effects on the infant's development and behavior."

Prolactin is a hormone that may protect against anxiety. Recently Larsen and her co-workers found that mice with induced low levels of prolactin in early pregnancy displayed substantial anxiety after they gave birth. Because the researchers also noted that daughters of the anxious mothers had delayed onset of puberty, they conducted the current study to learn what causes this late physical transition to sexual maturation.