Relationship between Stress During Pregnancy and Cord Blood Ige Level

Allergic diseases are among the common diseases in children and one of the common causes of disability in many societies. Increased incidence of these diseases in recent years in many countries has been reported. Allergies in children have several risk factors, including maternal stress during pregnancy. In this descriptive-analytic study, 290 pregnant women referred to two general and private hospitals in Yazd were studied. Subjects were selected during 2010 by non-randomized simple sampling. Anxiety level in pregnant mothers was determined by PRAQ (Pregnancy Anxiety Questionnaire). IgE (Immunoglobulin E) levels in Cord blood and maternal blood were determined by ELISA method. The results were analyzed by SPSS version 16. Our findings showed that the average anxiety score in mothers whose newborns had IgE level above 0.35 IU/ml is more than mothers whose babies blood IgE was less than 0.35 IU/ml, and there was a significant relationship between cord blood IgE level and pregnancy anxiety score (P<0.001). There wasnt any significant relationship between other variables such as gender, gestational age and birth weight with cord blood IgE levels (P> 0.05). It seems that anxiety and fear during pregnancy are risk factors for elevation of cord blood IgE level in newborns.