If you’re planning to have a baby with Down Syndrome, you’re going to want to make sure your child has an accurate understanding of the syndrome.
And, in the process, you might be more comfortable with having the baby, according to research.
The study, conducted by the University of Wisconsin and published in the journal BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, found that a person’s level of confidence in their baby’s Down syndrome can significantly influence how confident they are with the birth process.
The researchers looked at 4,200 women in the United States who had babies with Down syndrome, looking at the levels of self-esteem, openness, and openness to new experiences.
When they looked at the mothers’ self-reported confidence in how their baby was born, the researchers found that mothers who reported a higher level of self esteem reported that they were less likely to be concerned about how their babies were born, compared to mothers who were more confident in their abilities.
“It’s not surprising that women with a higher self- esteem score tend to be more confident with their babies,” lead author Laura J. Brown said in a statement.
“This is because they are more likely to think that their baby will be fine, and they may be able to accept that the baby is different from the way they think it should be.”
The study found that while women who were confident in how they conceived their babies had less anxiety about their babies’ future health and were less anxious about having their babies born, those with a lower self-worth score had less concern about their infants’ future well-being.
“There is a clear relationship between self-fulfilling expectations and well-childbirth and we think that the relationship is causal,” Dr. Brown added.
“These results suggest that a low self-concept and low self esteem score can increase anxiety and fear about how your child is going to be born, as well as lead to lower quality outcomes.”
If you’re having a baby that has Down syndrome and want to understand how it affects your baby, you should talk to your doctor.
You can find more information about the study at the University Press.