Mood during pregnancy affecting baby's personality?

[irrelevance]

This is a little OT.. kind of. I posted this on the Maternal & Child forum, but I wanted to include everyone so I wanted to post it here too.

Okay.. This is a rather random question.. I was just wondering, because months ago, my mother and I were talking and comparing different pregnancy experiences and the child's personality traits. For instance, she was very stressed out during her pregnancy with her first child and her first baby was very colicky and irritable. Her second was very smooth and easy-going, and her second baby was very calm and easy-going as well. My ex's mother said she drank a lot of soda with her children and they were very hyper. Now this of course could be absolutely unrelated, but I'm very curious about this. I was very stressed out, depressed, and angry through the majority of my pregnancy, having issues with the baby's father. My baby is VERY temperamental and irritable about 95% of the time.
So this is sort of more like... a "survey" kind of question.. If you would share your own experiences, I would really appreciate it. :)
With your children, what was your over-all experience with your pregnancy and your mood throughout, compared with your baby's attitude and personality (for atleast the first 3 months of life)?

[lizzeylove]

With my first i was stressed and crying all the time, my son came out crying and cried all day everyday till he was 3 months old. Hes 5 now and still is moody and cries over almost everything and stresses over the smallest of things. With my second i was calm, laid back, i was sick the entire pregnancy but didnt let that bother me, i was also tired all the time. My daughter came out happy, calm, slept all day and night till she was 4 months, i had to force her to wake up just to eat. Shes 2 now and still is happy almost all the time, very calm, and will ***** a situation before just freaking out unlike my son lol. So i myself am a believer that your emotions during your pregnancy matter

[Storeegurl]

This is something i have convinced myself is definitely (a thing) I too was having trouble with my kids father, a majority of my pregnancy I was stressed out, worried, hysterical, depressed..... it wasnt as happy of a time as it should be. After delivery the issues for the most part passed, well with me anyway- but my daughter is 6 now and she is soooo temperamental, very on edge, super sensitive and really has issues with controlling her emotions. She hasnt seen any of those behaviors first hand, however those all where things I was experiencing durring pregnancy. I spoke with several friends and Iv not been able to disprove this theory. It does make sense, your body produces different chemicals and hormones based on the type of mood your in. So why if you have developing baby wouldnt those fluctuations impact them? Hope this helps, thanks for reading.

[babyberry000]

Storegurl this post is 9 Years old. If you have a question please post on a new thread so out community can help :)

[casandbaby]

I wonder the same thing, with my son I was happy, I didn't have morning sickness or anything. And he is one of the happiest babies i know =]

[alaysha]

I was stressed out and upset almost my whole pregnancy and my daughter is usually an doll. She can have her demanding moments but I think all babies do that sometimes. :D

[Atlantisea]

With my first pregnancy I was upset, depressed, and had high blood pressure. The first baby turned out to be an irritable unsettled nightmare.

My second pregnancy was happy and calm. So was the baby. Am pregnant with my third, and was wondering the same thing... Will my moods affect my baby? I've had midwives and doctors tell me that they 'think' it is related. Who knows?

[natemomma27]

that couldn't be more un-true in my case!

with my first son i was so easy going and care free and he is the most hyper, disobedient stressful child i have ever met (still love him though!)

with my second child i was incredibly (sp) stressed all the time! i was trying to finish college, was in the process of moving, was in and out of the hospital for kidney related issues and he is the most calmest, easy going child.

good topic though!

[wild.blue]

Good question! I don't have any insight on the topic but it's very interesting

[luv2bmommy]

i also voiced that concern to my doctor during my first pregnancy because i had a lot going on, and she said that it is actually GOOD to get that stress and have a good cry or something sometimes. because what that makes your body do is release these hormones that try to balance you out again and these "feel good" hormones reach your baby too! and plus, baby's temperements are predetermined. most of that personality is developed before anything else is!

[mommato4]

Babies can be so different. My first i was so sick but other wise ok. My daughter was very colicky and cried all the time. I mean she woke up every hour and a half. My son , i was mostly calm  , extremely tired though, and he was very laid back. He did want to eat often, like every 2 hours. But he was not near as demanding as her. I think my daughter was like she was because i was very young and inexperienced. With my son, i had been there done that.