An Ill Wind Can Make Baby Ill

The visible damage of tropical storms and hurricanes make for startling video. But for a developing fetus, a pregnant mom’s stress at riding out bad weather can have subtle, yet harmful, effects on health.

A study by Princeton researchers shows that pregnant women who are in or near the path of a strong storm during their third trimester are 60 percent more likely to give birth to a baby with health difficulties. The researchers concluded that the stress of experiencing the storm is the culprit.

“Probably the most important finding of our study is that it does seem like being subjected to stress in pregnancy has some negative effect on the baby, but that the effect is more subtle than some of the previous studies have suggested,” says lead researcher Janet Currie.

The study include data on eight hurricanes and tropical storms that hit any part of Texas between 1996 and 2008 and caused more than $10 million damage. The most damaging storms were Tropical Storm Allison in 2001, which caused more than $50 billion in damage and 40 deaths, and Hurricane Ike, which caused $19.3 billion in damage and 103 deaths.