Date Posted: November 26, 2016
Contributing Authors: Kara Furman and David Ross, MD, PhD
Overview: The biological consequences of stress are myriad and our scientific understanding of them continues to evolve. More and more, recognition that certain stress is “bad for you” has taken on broader meaning and has consequences for the mental health and well being of all people. A recent article adds unborn babies to the list of potential victims of stress-induced negative health consequences and raises the question of how pregnant women ought to manage or think about their life stresses. This module lends itself to discussions about mental health during pregnancy, brain development, subjectivity in experience of stress, and social disparities in exposure to life stressors.
Author Affiliations: Kara Furman is a student in the Yale School of Medicine MD/PhD program. David Ross, MD, PhD is from the Yale School of Medicine. Ashley Walker, MD is the Contributing Editor for this publication. The National Neuroscience Curriculum Initiative is a collaborative effort with AADPRT and the American Psychiatric Association (APA) Council on Medical Education and Lifelong Learning and receives support from the NIH (R25 MH10107602S1) ©National Neuroscience Curriculum Initiative.
