Stress from violence can be passed to offspring

 Stress experienced by pregnant women in violent situations can be passed down generations and negatively affect their grandchildren’s health, a recent study suggested.

 According to a report presented at Asia-Pacific Economic and Business History Conference on Thursday, babies born from mothers who spent their prenatal life in the May 18 democratic movement in 1980 were lighter and more likely to be born prematurely than others.

 The report stated babies’ inherited stress had no link to their parent’s economic background.

 Notably, pregnant women under stress in their second trimester passed down the most negative influences to their grandchildren. Male children were more vulnerable to such influences than female children, the journal stated.

 “The study provides rare evidence of how stress caused from violent situations, such as the May 18 uprising, negatively influences not only the pregnant women but also their grandchildren,” said Lee Chul-hee, the lead author of the journal and a professor at Seoul National University.

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