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Very interesting?? Ana .....9/11-Linked Miscarriages
Suggest Boys More Vulnerable to Stress
The stress of 9/11 may have increased the number of boy babies that miscarried, and the effect
extended far beyond New York City.
THE GIST
- The stress of the terrorist attacks on 9/11 caused a
disproportionate number of miscarriages among women carrying male
babies. - Societal
stress can affect the health of people just as much as individual life
stress can. - Males are
more vulnerable to the negative health effects of stress in the womb.
After
the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, there was a small but real
rise in the number of miscarriages across the country -- especially for
women who were pregnant with boys. The finding adds to evidence
that boys are more vulnerable to stress than girls while in the womb.
The study also affirms that the tragic events of 9/11 deeply affected
people far beyond the limits of New York City. "The stress of a
mother affects the fetus, and it's not just these individual stressors
like whether you had a divorce or lost your job, but also these ambient
stressors, like the economy and September 11," said Tim Bruckner, a
population health researcher at the University of California, Irvine.
"The effects resonated across the entire society. We were essentially
bereaving what we saw on TV." In the United States an average of
105 boys are born for every 100 girls. But in times of stress, like
after natural disasters or economic collapse, studies have shown that
the ratio drops, and fewer boys are born than expected. So far, it
hasn't been clear why. By
Emily Sohn Tue May 25, 2010 National Geographic
Newsletter.