Stress affect fetus?

[SarahMiller303]

ive had the most stress past few days with some family related problems and also some decreased movement… I’ve cried a lot and got very anxious I’m 29 weeks will this affect baby as I’ve been told stress isn’t good for them anD I feel so guilty

Stress isn’t good for the baby, what it is doing to your baby no one here can tell you, if you are feeling decreased movement I’d ask your midwife for a checkup.

Some advice that helped me to destress physically during pregnancy was to watch standup comedy videos on youtube. Just light hearted things like Michael MacIntyre.

I hope things improve for you 💐

Always get decreased movement checked, but please don't worry or panic about stress affecting the baby as it will only make you stress more!
I gave birth to my second child in August and I was stressed throughout the majority of the pregnancy. I lost my first child last year at 33 weeks, so I was terrified the whole nine months that I'd lose this baby. I was also completing my Master's dissertation whilst I was pregnant. I had numerous panic attacks from scans triggering the PTSD of losing my son.
I had the exact same worries as you, but my little girl is now three and a half months old, very healthy, clever and HAPPY!
I wish I hadn't spent the nine months stressed, but I also know it couldn't be helped and now my girl is thriving! Please try not to worry and be kind to yourself 💖

It is fine, millions of healthy happy babies are born in wars and famines, and places were the stress levels of the mother will be many orders of magnitude greater than the stress we experience here in UK

Some of these links are not based on good science.

Babies are incredibly well protected and resilient. Yes - do get checked out for reduced movement. But healthy babies get born during wars, in disaster zones, in abuse situations and all sorts of horrible and very stressful contexts, so please don’t give yourself too much extra stress worrying about your little one. Hope whatever the cause of the stress is resolves quickly and that you have some support around you

I think that’s really unhelpful @Jivizdrav. Yes stress is a problem in pregnancy but only if that stress is really significant in scale and is chronic over time. Most women are stressed in pregnancy to greater or lesser degrees. Previous losses, health worries, work, caring demands, strife with partner, these are all normal, unfortunately.
Definitely try to relax OP, but don’t give yourself the double stress of being stressed about your stress. Accept that some stress is inevitable and that you’re doing your best for your baby.
If it’s any help, I was very very stressed in my second pregnancy (actually third pregnancy after a loss between Baby 1 and 2) and she has turned out to have a very happy and chilled disposition, whereas my much more relaxed first pregnancy baby is really highly strung. Both babies healthy and happy. Good luck!

The baby is probably crawling by now.

Ha fair enough, fell for a zombie thread