阅读难度：

A mother's stress can spread to her baby in the womb and may cause a lasting effect, German researchers propose, BBC reports.

They have seen that a receptor for stress hormones appears to undergo a biological change in the unborn child if the mother is highly stressed, for example, because of a violent partner. And this change may leave the child less able to handle stress themselves.

Thomas Elbert, one of the lead researchers at the University of Konstanz, said: "It would appear that babies who get signals from their mum that they are being born into a dangerous world are faster responders. They have a lower threshold for stress and seem to be more sensitive to it."

It has already been linked to mental illness and behavioral problems.

（点击BBC网站查看原文）

母亲的压力会传给胎儿

       母亲的压力会传给还在子宫中的胎儿，并对其产生长远的影响。

       据英国广播公司报道，德国研究人员发现，如果母亲因伴侣施暴等原因而承受较大的压力，胎儿的应激激素受体就会产生生物性变化，从而导致其抗压能力减弱。

       康斯坦茨大学的托马斯·埃尔伯特教授是该研究的带头人之一。他说：“从母亲那里得到他们将要来到一个危险世界的暗示后，胎儿长大后的应激反应就会很快。他们很容易感受到压力，对压力异常敏感。”

       目前，该发现已被用来研究精神疾病和行为问题。

(China.org.cn July 21, 2011)